Their Life Before
by emily4498
Summary: Minato and Kushina's life before the Kyuubi attack.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

 **Captured Part 1**

 _NOTE: This is an old work, written when I was a junior in high school(I'm a sophomore in college now), and it hasn't been edited, I just want to post it in its entirety, it's been too long since its original posting._

 _NOTE 2: This is almost entirely canon-compliant. It was written as character building/companion for_ If He Lived _but_ _can be read by itself._

 _BACKGROUND: This is before Minato is born and focuses on his father, Masao._

 _BACKGROUND 2: Masao is nine and Osamu, his brother, is seven. At the very beginning of the First Shinobi World War. The Namikaze are a nomadic clan who primarily take messages between monks. They are currently resting outside a temple near a newly-founded Konoha while the adults work for the monks. Unlike in the other clans of the era, the Namikaze remain neutral in conflicts, but tolerate no attacks on themselves or those harboring them. Masao is the heir to the clan and future leader while Osamu is considered the spare. Children of the clan fulfill day-to-day chores alongside the elderly and do not begin their shinobi training until they are fifteen, though they practice extensively in chakra control, mental strength, and intelligence as soon as they are able._

 **(-)**

"Nii-san! I found something really cool! You got to come see!" Osamu tugged at his older brother.

"What is it?" Masao responded curiously, but not looking up from the bush as he struggled to extract berries out of its thorny branches without mutilating his hand.

"It's a tree!"

"There's trees everywhere!" The elder brother knelt down and dropped a handful of berries in a small basket.

"No! It's a tree shaped really cool!"

"What kind of shape?"

"You'll see. It has writing on it too!"

"What does it say?"

"I don't know! It's in funny letters like the ones To-san was teaching you this morning."

"Really?" Masao snaked his hand out of the bush, ignoring the thin cuts from his elbow to fingertip.

Abandoning the basket, Masao raced after his little brother, ducking through the foliage in an impromptu game of tag.

"See? See? See?" Osamu exclaimed suddenly, stopping in his tracks. In front of him, two thick trees grew an arm's length apart before twining together just above Masao's head. The larger of the two trunks sported a thick scar. As the two boys approached cautiously, it turned into a hollow just large enough for a handful of children to sit comfortably inside. Beside the partially-hidden entrance, letters were burned into the wood. Masao approached, curiosity blinding him to the suspicious circumstances and possible danger.

Mouthing the words, Masao struggled to decipher the writing. "It says 'look inside' but it's not To-san's handwriting, do you think it's someone else's?" Turning back to his brother, Masao's eyes widened suddenly, his hand forming the sign for danger. Osamu bolted back the way he came, Masao directly on his heels, one hand on his brother's back to help him keep his balance. Before they managed to escape the miniature clearing, two figures descended on the boys. Some instinct made Masao rush ahead of his brother and fling the smaller boy into the woods, propelling himself back towards the attackers. "Osamu! Get To-san!" Masao cried as the smaller boy flew out of sight as the attackers slammed him into the ground, twisting his arm behind his back so forcefully that his shoulder, elbow, and wrist dislocated. The nine-year-old screamed in pain, trying to writhe out of the grip, but the adult ninja held him firmly.

"You need not be so rough, Madara, he's just a boy."

"Why did you let the other one go?"

"He'll tell the rest of his clan what happened and we should be able to contact them sooner."

"Hashirama—"

"Give me the boy, you're no good with kids. I'll take him back while you wait here. We've been trying to contact this clan for months, but it's like they disappear whenever we get close—"

"Fine, I'll leave the message and you can deal with the brat. What's his name?"

"The other boy called him Nii-san."

"That's not his name, you idiot. What's your name, gaki?" Madara demanded, digging his nails into Masao's back.

In a twist which caused even more damage to his arm, Masao managed to slip out from underneath Madara and force the ninja to release him of risk tearing off the boy's arm. Masao tried to run, but Hashirama caught him by the collar, jerking him back and wrapping a strong arm around the boy's neck.

"Easy does it, kid, I'm not going to hurt you if you cooperate."

Masao jabbed his elbow into Hashirama's thigh, causing to ninja to grunt and tighten his grip.

"You're too soft," Madara rolled his eyes.

"Traumatizing the kid will only turn his clan against us."

"Kidnapping him will turn them against us." Madara grabbed the boy's chin and forced him to look into his Sharringan.

Masao screamed, immediately dispelling the illusion and swinging a kick at Madara's head. Only superior experience kept the strike from falling.

"That's enough," Hashirama interrupted before Madara could retaliate. "The message is in the hollow, hopefully, we'll get a response soon."

"And if they manage to track us instead?"

"You're so pessimistic!"

"I'm cautious, we might be good, but I'm not going to pit myself against an enraged clan."

"If the rest of the clan is as smart as this boy and his brother, they will hear us out first."

"And if he happens to be the son of the clan head? You remember how my father was and how yours could get."

"I don't think these people are like that. They work almost exclusively for religious monks and bet they have no known history in warfare."

"Your gambling habits are going to get someone in serious trouble."

Hashirama opened his mouth to retort, and Masao took full advantage of the distraction, twisting to face the ninja with a sharp strike to his solar plexus. He could have struck a tree for all the difference it made against the ninja's armor. With a firm grip on the boy's good arm, Hashirama pulled him into a powerful Shunshin. Madara rolled his eyes and followed.

"Mito is going to murder you for something," Madara noted as they stopped in front of the village gates.

"She's too nice to do something like that," Hashirama retorted.

"Hashirama!" A woman's voice screeched.

"I take that back," he amended.

"I have clan affairs to attend to," Madara excused himself.

"What have you done to that little boy?" Mito demanded.

"He's a hostage," Hashirama responded, standing tall under the woman's wrath.

"He's not even trained! Let him go, this instant!"

"I can't Mito, this boy is important to secure our safety."

"Then go turn your son over to that boy's parents!"

"Mito!" Hashirama responded sternly.

Her temper dampened. "At least give him medical attention," she ground out, following him closely.

"I'm not a barbarian, Mito, I'll do it personally."

The woman Shunshined back into the village and gave Hashirama no choice but to follow, pulling the listless boy behind him.

(-.-)

"He hasn't moved for ages," Mito told her husband as he slipped off his shoes.

"Meditating?"

"I think so."

Hashirama walked down to the end of the front hall and looked into the last room. In the center of the mostly empty room, Masao knelt seiza-style, his palms turned upwards and resting on his thighs, face tilted upwards. Black lines encircled both wrists and a seal glowed on his abdomen, his shirt discarded a few feet in front of him. "His family works for the monks, maybe they taught him something," Hashirama concluded, closing the door.

"The monks don't share their secrets."

"Then he must be attempting a clan technique of some sort, the seal is stopping him from doing something with his chakra."

"The seal is near its breaking point."

"Not even I can generate enough chakra to break one of those seals, you're being paranoid."

"He's not trying to break the seal; he's working around it and succeeding. I didn't even think that was possible."

"Mito, relax, he's just a boy, still injured at that. He can't hurt anyone."

"You're an idiot, Hashirama, at his age, you and Madara were already fighting adults and winning."

"Normal kids can't do that."

Mito's face connected with the man's face. "A normal kid can't break a Chakra-binding seal with Chakra."

"That hurt, Mito-chan, did you use chakra or something?"

"That's an idea, maybe I should. Next time it might puncture that ego you have, O almighty god of shinobi."

"Shouldn't you try and use that Chakra to make me feel better rather than beating my head in?"

"You know that's impossible."

"Right."

"What do you think kid? Do you think Chakra can heal someone as well as it can hurt them?"

Masao glared at her, standing stiffly in the doorway, millimeters away from the barrier imprisoning him in the room. His eyes flickered between them, but only narrowed his eyes disdainfully. Bending down to the boy's level, Hashirama looked him directly in the eye.

"I like you, boy, even if you would prefer me dead at your feet," Hashirama commented.

Masao's face whitened in horror and he began to shake his head before he regained his composure. The action made Hashirama smile.

"You're a good kid, no matter what anyone says. I apologize for taking you away from your brother.

Osamu was his name, correct?"

Masao stiffened.

"I have a little brother too."

Masao's blank expression turned into a glare.

"If you want to see him again, there is something I need from you."

Masao's gaze hardened.

"You're a smart kid, I can tell. You tell me what I need to know and this can all go away."

Hashirama waited for a response, but the boy's expression never changed.

"I'm not asking you to betray your clan; I just need some information so I can figure out how best to talk to them without inciting bloodshed."

Masao took a step forwards and placed his hand on the barrier imprisoning him. He closed his eyes and the adults watched him curious. Slowly, with immense concentration, Masao pushed his fingers, then his entire hand through the barrier. Mito's eyes widened, absolutely stunned. Hashirama's brow furrowed as he tried to work out what Masao did. A pulse of chakra, powerful enough to encompass the entire village and a few miles beyond, tore through his hand, leaving his skin horribly burned. He screamed once in pain, jerking his hand back and holding it tightly against his chest. "I don't care what you do. I won't tell you anything!"

Backing into the corner furthest from the door, Masao glared at them, defiant, but trembling in pain while Mito slammed the door shut in panic.

"I'm sure you don't need to—"

"I was wrong, Hashirama, I'm sorry I shouted at you, that boy is as dangerous as you are. As soon as he falls asleep, I'm going to put high-risk prisoner seals on him."

"You're overreacting; he was raised practicing the same peace I'm trying to build. Once I explain that to him, he'll cooperate."

"Don't bet on that."

"It's done me good so far."

(-.-)

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Can you see anything?"

"No."

"Can you feel your restraints?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how many people are in this room?"

"No."

"Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"Do you know where you are?"

"No."

"Do you know why you're here?"

"Yes."

"Why are you here?"

No answer.

"What is your name?"

"Namikaze Masao."

"What is your rank?"

"Civilian."

"How old are you?"

"Nine."

"What is your father's name?"

No answer.

"Answer the question!"

No answer.

"What is your mother's name?"

No answer.

"How many siblings do you have?"

No answer.

"Who does your family work for?"

No answer.

"What's your favorite color?"

No answer.

"What's your favorite game to play?"

No answer.

"How many fingers do you have?"

No answer.

"What color is your hair?"

No answer.

The interrogator stood and studied the boy lying front of him on the metal slab, wondering if he had fallen asleep. She discarded the theory as he noticed the elevated heart rate and chilled trembling. Frowning, the interrogator's eyes narrowed, making a mental note to have a long chat with the individual responsible for preparing the boy for questioning. Child or not, he had not been stripped, or even searched, not that a standard search would have found the ninja wire embedded underneath the skin of his wrist, but it would certainly have found the slender blade sewn into the seam of his shorts.

She approached and brushed away a strand of hair from Masao's sweaty forehead. He jerked away from her touch. After a minute, she began a thorough search, tearing the ninja wire out from underneath his skin and leaving the wound to bleed. Masao gritted his teeth.

"I may not be allowed to permanently harm you, but until my questions are answered, you'll find out exactly how much damage I can cause."

With a massive surge of chakra, Masao broke out of his restraints and rolled off the table, dashing out of reach. On instinct, the interrogator surged forward to catch the escapee, but Masao turned around with impossible agility. Snatching a short tantō out of the surprised interrogator's hand, Masao swung himself onto the interrogator's back as ninja flooded in behind him, weapons ready.

"Turn around," Masao ordered the interrogator, who obeyed slowly.

The boy shifted his weight backwards and stood on his captive's belt with his knees pressed against her shoulder blades.

"If anyone attacks, she dies. If I lose my balance, she dies. If anyone makes a sudden movement, she dies. If you don't do exactly what I say, she dies. I could continue but I think you get my point. Before you say anything, I know if she dies, I probably will too, but a life for a life is exactly what you're trying to stop, Shodaime Hokage Senju Hashirama, correct?" Masao mocked.

Hashirama stepped past the ninja and opened his mouth to speak when Masao cut him off.

"No, I don't care what you have to say. I want to go home, and you're gonna let me!"

"Then let her go," Hashirama said firmly.

"You're a ninja. Ninja lie."

"I won't go back on my word."

"You're not moving out of my way," Masao answered, ignoring the oath and tightening his grip.

"There's chakra in that blade, Hashirama," Madara warned from the Hokage's shoulder.

"I don't need your fancy eyes to see that."

"Get out of my way!" Masao screamed. No one moved.

"You're not going to kill him, boy."

"Try me," Masao snarled. His free arm snaked around the interrogator's bicep and he jerked, shattering the woman's shoulder before anyone could react. She screamed in pain but remained standing. "Do I have your attention now?"

"You've always had my attention," Hashirama responded steadily.

"Then get out of my way."

Hashirama stepped to the side and everyone else followed his example.

"Now, walk out of here," Masao ordered.

The interrogator could do nothing but listen. The instant she stepped out of the interrogation building, Masao raced away, barely making it to the half-built likeness of Hashirama's face before a flash of light halted him in his steps. A younger shinobi wielding a staff skidded to a stop on his left. Masao's blue eyes met the man's in front of him and he darted between the shinobi clad in blue armor and the staff-wielding one.

"Hiruzen!" The first ninja shouted in annoyance as he found himself deflecting the staff instead of catching Masao. The boy grabbed the belt of the man in blue armor and swung himself onto his back, the stolen tantō pressed against his throat.

With all the power a nine-year-old boy could muster, Masao commanded, "Use that jutsu to take me as far from here as you can."

"Don't move, Tobirama," Hashirama contradicted. "Calm down, Masao-kun."

Masao only tightened his grip, drawing blood.

"What the hell did you do this time, Hashirama?" Tobirama demanded. The elder brother flinched. The sudden movement plucked Masao's tightly wound nerves and he reflexively jerked the tantō across Tobirama's throat. A quick Kawarimi saved the younger Senju at the last possible second and with a firm grip on Masao, used his Hiraishin to comply with the boy's demand and appeared outside one of the smaller gates of the village.

Masao tried to flee, but Tobirama wrapped his arms around the boy, immobilizing the tantō. "Calm down," he stated with absolute authority. Immediately, the boy stilled. "Good. What did my idiot brother do this time?"

"I wanna go home!" Masao whined, beginning to squirm in the ninja's grip.

"Fine," Tobirama released the boy. Masao stumbled away, but something compelled him to stop and look back. "What happened, kid?"

Masao raced away, circling the perimeter of Konoha until he reached a familiar place, following his own trail back through the forest with tear-filled eyes. Exactly an hour later, Masao stumbled into his clan's meeting, tears streaming down his face as the emotions from his ordeal crashed over him. Scratches covered his legs and he left bloody footprints with every step. The tantō he brandished in front of him blindly. Leaves, sweat, blood from his hands, and mud from falling matted his hair and dulled the bright blond. His shirt hung miles behind him, dangling from a greedy tree branch. Without even slowing down, the boy flung the tantō aside and collided with his father, wrapping his thin arms around the man's neck.

"You're safe now, musuko, you're safe," the father repeated in the boy's ear, holding him tightly and casting a bewildered look at his clan mates. "What happened? Where were you? Osamu said you turned into a shadow!"

Masao stilled and looked back the way he came out of the corner of his eye. "No!" he responded after a long silence, clinging tighter to his father, who bit back his demand for an explanation.


	2. Chapter 2

**The God War Part 1**

 _The First God War—the first civil war in the Namikaze clan. Minato is 4, his father(Masao) is 27, his mother(Kotone) is 19, and Sakumo is 22. Osamu is the leader of the Namikaze clan and the younger brother of Masao._

 **(-)**

"He's barely four years old and you'd make him start combat training?" Namikaze Masao growled.

"All the other clan children are beginning training at his age, why're you trying to hold him back?" The clan leader, Namikaze Osamu, responded evenly.

"I won't let my son go through your training program," Masao snapped.

"You forget who you're speaking to, Masao. I can take that boy away from you."

Little Namikaze Minato stood in the doorway watching the adults argue, unnoticed.

"The clan won't stand for that. You need my support in the council to get your way."

"That's where you're wrong. Everyone but you agreed to the program for all the children. They approved the curriculum."

"And how many of them d'you threaten before they agreed?"

"Say'at again, bastard."

"How many of the council d'you threaten and blackmail before they agreed to your wretched curriculum?"

"Ah, I see what your problem is now. You disagree with my methods. Are you regretting not accepting the leadership now?"

"If this is what power does, then I regret nothing."

"Always the noble one, weren't you, Masao? You were born immensely powerful but always refusing to use that power. Now you're holding your own son back from his potential with your warped ideals."

"If learning to mindlessly kill, if desensitizing him to the loss of life before he can learn to enjoy his own life is what it takes to reach his full potential, I'll even take away what little power he has now."'

"You'd do that to your own son?" Osamu stepped aside to point at Minato standing in the doorway.

Masao held Minato's gaze as he responded. "Power is never for oneself. It's for protecting others and nothing else." Masao looked back at Osamu, "Maybe I could've done better than you could as clan leader; however, I made my decision a long time ago and I don't regret it."

"You agreed to my appointment, why're you not respecting your own decision?"

"My son won't participate with the rest of the children in your program."

"This clan needs soldiers, not half-baked peacekeepers!"

"We're at peace for the first time in our lives! There's no need for soldiers, only people to protect the peace not destroy it!"

"No, Masao, this is the time when we take what's rightfully ours, before another war begins and the chaos ruins our chance!"

"What's rightfully ours? We've everything we could possibly want, right here, why're you lusting for more?"

"We've the right to rule. The right to control the entire shinobi world, from there we can do anything; you can even achieve that peace you always talk about. To do that, we need soldiers. Your son can—"

"No."

"I've the power to force you."

"You do not," Masao responded, leaving no doubt on the matter.

In a blink, Osamu stood behind Minato twisting the boy's arms behind him and pressing the edge of a shuriken against the boy's neck, the tip positioned so any movement would tear open his artery. Minato did not struggle or cry out, he merely watched his father, eyes wide and trusting.

Masao appeared unbothered at Osamu's actions. The boy dissolved into water, revealing himself as nothing more than a clone while the real Minato opened the sliding door at the other edge of the room to reveal a collection of clan members watching in horror.

"I won't fight you here. Since this is the way you've decided to deal with insubordination instead of bringing it publicly to the attention of the council for judgment, as clan law requires, I and those assembled have chosen to deny your relation to the Namikaze clan. We'll move to a different village where I hope we'll be less tempted to use our power for our own gain."

They turned their backs on Osamu and walked out of the room, a small procession out of the village, leaving him dumbfounded.

"You traitors'll pay for that," He vowed but there was no response. He left the house to see the rest of the clan assembled, watching the dozen leave.

"They've no right to desert our clan, no matter what might happen," one person growled.

Nods of assent turned the remaining dozen against those departing. Minato, the second youngest of the three children departing, glanced back curiously at the angry faces before running to catch up with his mother, Namikaze Kotone. She lifted him into a piggyback.

"Ka-san, look at the new hand seals I watched To-san do this morning!" He whispered into her ear. He started to shape the hand seals but his mother wrapped a hand around his.

"You can show me later, Mina-chan, now be still."

Minato tightened his grip around her as the departing half of the clan leapt to the rooftops and raced out of the village. An average shinobi saw them as nothing more than a blur as they left Takigakure.

"Ka-san, can I run too, please? I promise t'keep up."

"No, Mina-chan, be silent."

For almost an hour of nothing but running, Minato stayed still and silent on Kotone's back, watching the terrain rush by. Soon after, the impatience of the four-year-old overrode his determination to be good.

"Ka-san, c'n'I ask To-san a question?"

"What's your question?"

"Why're we leaving?"

"To-san'll explain everything later."

"Why're there shinobi makin' a giant lake?"

Kotone stopped abruptly. The rest of the group passed her by almost a hundred meters before stopping to look back in confusion. She motioned for them to come back and dashed off the path they followed.

"Masao!" She hissed. He pushed himself to the front of the group. She swung Minato off her back and roughly set him on his feet. He stepped away from the rough treatment, out from between his parents, staring curiously at a clump of trees.

"What is it? We can't stop until we're out of the country."

"They're already on to us!"

"What makes you think that?"

Kotone pointed sharply at Minato. The boy's attention flickered briefly back to his parents but quickly refocused on the clump of trees. "He just asked why there were people making a lake. Sound like a familiar Taki jutsu? We both know he's an almost fully developed sensor."

"He's four! How—"

"Masao, he's too young to know how to lie about something like that, and has absolutely no reason to!"

"Ka-san?" Minato tugged on Kotone's hand.

"Hold on a second, Minato-kun," Masao snapped. "Are you sure about this, Kotone?"

"We might as well play it safe."

"You're right as usual—"

"To-san!" Minato screamed and leapt toward his father with the intent to push him out of the way of the three shuriken shooting from the trees. Minato overestimated his strength and he slammed into his father's chest, knocking the adult backwards a step, the shuriken landing in his back rather than flying over his head while Kotone created a wall of water to stop the remaining hail of shuriken and kunai.

Masao caught his son before the boy could hit the ground and laid him gently on his stomach, quickly pulling out the shuriken, wincing as the boy cried out. Minato tried to push himself up, but Masao held him down with one hand. Masao deflected two kunai, both aimed at Minato, before pressing his finger into each of the wounds and cauterizing them. Minato cried out and tried to jerk away, but Masao finished within seconds.

"To-san?" Minato tried to sit up again and Masao lifted the boy to his feet. Disorientated by pain, Minato stumbled against his father. Masao lifted him up and called for the rest of the group to fall back. Minato buried his face in Masao's shoulder, hot tears dampening Masao's loose, white shirt alongside the smear of blood droplets. "To-san, 'm sorry, didn't mean t'get hurt," Minato mumbled.

"It's fine, Mina-chan, you did very well," Masao rubbed the space between Minato's shoulder blades, a motion to relax him while Masao made sure the rest of the clan could disengage, thankfully with no injuries. One of the shinobi better at sensing took the lead, leading them directly toward the closest major country. Neither Taki nor the other half of the Namikaze clan would dare cross into the Land of Earth without serious thought. Twice more, Taki shinobi tried to stop them, but a team of Taki's best Jōnin could barely threaten a single Namikaze, much less half the clan. In a few hours, they reached the border. Before they could cross, the other half of their clan appeared from the trees, blocking their path. Masao placed Minato in front of the other two children in the group as the adults herded the children into the center of a tight, defensive circle.

"What's the plan Masao?" Someone asked.

"You four, take the children and—"

"That's won't work," Kotone interrupted. "Masao, you're our best medic and you have to take care of Minato. Besides, they're going to go after you first, so if you get away, it will mess with their plans. Take Mina-chan and the younger child, Kameyo and head towards Konoha, they have our best bet at keeping the children safe. Hiroaki, cover him and put up a containment barrier to give him a five-minute head start then rejoin the fighting. We're going to fight in pairs. As soon as the containment barrier is down, we're all going to all bolt in every direction. Stay in pairs and make as many clones as you can and send them running. Group one," she motioned to several individuals, "Rendezvous in the Land of Iron in two weeks only if you are certain you are not followed. Group two," she continued to divvy up those assembled, "Rendezvous in the Land of Earth, in one week and make sure you are followed, drag them past as many Iwa shinobi as you can. If it comes to it, let yourself be captured by Iwa, tell the Kage everything you know about Taki and the rest of the clan, as long as it won't compromise us, in exchange for passage to the Land of Iron one month from now. Group three, go to the major hidden villages and tell only the Kages what the rest of the clan is planning and that the rest of us foiled their plans for now. Make sure no one else in the village knows, don't worry about being followed there, but when you come to rendezvous a month from now in the Land of Iron, ensure you are not followed. Masao, go now."

He roughly grabbed the youngest of the children and slung the girl across his back, yanking the wide-eyed Minato into his arms and bolting in a random direction. He used chakra to significantly augment his speed and hold the little girl on his back. Minato's tiny hands clung to his shirt as a kunai grazed the side of his face. His father cursed and crashed to the ground as a second kunai escaped the barrier and lodged itself in his thigh. He yanked it out and continued to run with a heavy limp, only to skid to a halt as Osamu stepped out in front of him. Masao dropped the two children to the ground, the girl falling unconscious when she lost contact with his skin.

Taking advantage of his long stride, Masao stood with the two children lying between his ankles and created a solid wall of earth at his back. "To-san!" Minato choked. Masao used one foot to roll the girl further out of the way, against the wall, never taking his eyes off Osamu.

"You won't train the boy, yet you still insist on protecting him? That girl won't survive three days as a shinobi, what makes her so special?"

"Someone like you would never understand."

"We'll see about that," Osamu leapt forward swinging a long sword and slashing at his head and followed through with a kunai to the ribs. Masao blocked and the fight moved too fast for Minato to follow. A kunai fell beside Minato's head. He grabbed it, rolled onto his stomach, and waited for Osamu to step close enough to strike. Adrenaline dulled the pain from the shuriken. Suddenly Osamu's foot moved forward. Minato slashed, the sharp kunai cutting deep into the side of the shin, severing the muscle and lodging itself in the fibula. Osamu stumbled backwards unsteadily, cursing, wrenching the kunai from Minato's hand. Suddenly the man's anger, previously focused on Masao, turned to the boy. Minato recoiled, one hand smeared with the man's blood, and the other wrapped around Masao's leg. "I should've killed you instead," he growled, tearing out the kunai and tightly wrapping the wound with a strip of bandage. Minato glanced over his shoulder to see the girl impaled by a spike of earth.

Minato's head snapped back painfully as Masao yanked him into the air and fled. He started to cry as the speed pressed him painfully hard against his father's chest.

"Mina-chan, be quiet," Masao hissed, clamping a hand over the boy's mouth. He turned sharply and slipped into a hollow tree. "It's very important that you stay completely silent, okay?" he breathed into Minato's ear. Minato stared up at him terrified, feeling the man's fearful trembling overwhelming his own. Biting down on his lip, Minato buried his face in his father's collar, the rough fabric rubbing painfully against his soft skin. His father's thumb began to massage circles into his back, wishing he could heal Minato's wounds without poisoning his undeveloped chakra coils with adult chakra.

"To-san," Minato whispered, "I want home."

"I'm sorry, Mina-chan, we're going to have to find a new home somewhere else."

Masao sunk deeper into the tree, cradling the half-asleep Minato in the crook of his arm. He pulled a scrap of bandage out of a pocket and gently cleaned the blood smeared across Minato's face and hands. The boy's small body relaxed against him but Minato kept his eyes focused on his father's face until his eyelids drooped closed, hands relaxing the death grip on his father's shirt in sleep. Masao allowed his head to drop and rest on his son's forehead, listening carefully to the shallow breaths.

"We'll find a new home, I promise." The father tamped down his own fear, pulling the boy closer, waiting, as a handful of shinobi rushed past. He forced himself to keep a careful watch, smoothing Minato's tattered, sleeveless, bloodstained white shirt, wondering where he lost his well-worn jacket. His shorts held more dirt than thread and his bare feet shone palely in the dim light. The evening chill started to settle in the air and Masao pulled his son closer, cursing how poorly equipped he left the village. Not even he would be able to survive the cold night without more clothing or at least a better shelter. As Minato began to shiver, Masao crept out of the tree and hurried towards the nearest town.

"To-san, I'm cold," Minato mumbled, trying to curl closer and hide his bare skin from the cold. Not for the first time since planning his departure from the clan, Masao wondered if splitting from the clan was the right decision. A second later, he glanced down at Minato's tiny frame. Minato may not have been the strongest or smartest of the clan children his age, but Masao was unwilling to commit filicide in complying with Osamu's orders.

Stumbling into a small village, Masao hurried towards the stables outside the guard tower, thankful no one checked on the animals after dark. Slipping through a loose board in the back, he set Minato down, keeping a close eye on the dog watching them warily from a bed in the corner of the tack room. Pulling down two blankets, Masao wrapped one around Minato's shoulders and tossed the other into the hayloft. The dog growled softly. Minato, ignoring the signs to stay away, took a step toward the dog. Masao pulled down a ladder as quietly as possible, eyes never leaving the dog. By the time he finished, Minato tentatively scratching the creature's ears. He approached slowly; lifting Minato into his arms, hoping the dog refrained from barking. Using chakra to steady himself on the ladder without his hands, Masao climbed into the hayloft and sat down in a part of the loft where the hay lay untouched.

Casting a subtle Genjutsu around the area to hide them from sight, Masao lay down on a pile of hay with Minato curled on his chest. The boy's shivering subsided in the properly sheltered area, and Masao closed his eyes, remaining meticulously aware of his surroundings, debating whether or not to bring Minato when he fetched supplies. Remembering what Kotone told him, he considered drawing attention to himself and thinning the forces chasing the rest of the defecting clan. Glancing down at his son, he wondered if it would be worth putting the boy in danger and if he could survive for long on the run.

Midway through the night, Minato woke and looked up to his father's reassuring smile.

"To-san, is Ka-san okay?"

"I'm sure she is, Mina-chan."

"Why'd leave Taki?" Minato turned to kneel beside him. Masao pulled the blanket tighter around the boy, thinking carefully about his answers. He may not have been comparable to the other clan children, but Minato was far more intelligent than any average child, with a knack for figuring far more from the simplest statements than many adults could infer. Masao was careful with his answer.

"Osamu wanted to do something mean to the rest of the hidden villages, so I decided that if he didn't have anyone to help him, he couldn't do it."

Minato's brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what his father meant. "So now he's mean to you 'cause you wouldn't let him be mean to everyone else?"

"It's a little more complicated than that, but yes."

"But why'd he kill Kameyo-chan?"

"I don't know."

"Why?"

"Sometimes people do bad things and we don't always know the reason."

"If he's mean t'you and Kameyo-chan, d'you think he'll be mean to Ka-san?"

Masao hesitated with his answer. He wanted to reassure him that his mother would certainly be fine, but could not bring himself to lie to the boy's face. Minato grimaced when no answer came and clung to Masao's shirt.

"What's he trying t'do to the villages?"

"He wanted to start a war with them," Masao suppressed a wince. He knew his son well enough to know the boy could figure plenty of the situation out with that statement.

"So, he wanted t'be stronger than the other villages like villages want t'be more powerful than other villages in the big wars you told me 'bout."

"It's a little more complicated, but you got the gist of it."

"C'n'I help you so he doesn't do mean things to anyone else?"

Masao flinched, Minato's brow furrowing in confusion at his response. "It's too dangerous for you, but I have a different idea. Can you do something for me?"

Minato nodded eagerly, a small smile making him appear less like a young shinobi and more like his actual age.

"I need you to wait right here and be perfectly silent, can you do that? It's just for a little while."

Minato nodded and curled into the hay. Masao laid the other blanket over him and cast an even stronger Genjutsu around him, before racing into the town, careful to avoid detection. He glanced inside houses as he ran across the roof, searching. Finally, he found a reasonably well-off family with a son slightly older than Minato. Creeping into the boy's room and tamping down his hatred for thievery, Masao pulled a pair of dark, sturdy pants and a warm jacket out of the boy's closet. As quietly as a ninja could, Masao crept into the father's room and pulled out a jacket for himself. Leaving a few coins at the foot of the bed, Masao fled, slowing enough so as not to startle Minato with his sudden appearance. He redressed Minato in the new clothes, and slung on his own jacket

"Come on," Masao ordered, holding out a hand to pull Minato onto his back. The boy obeyed quickly, the blankets and discarded clothing left behind, clinging tightly to his father.

"Where're going?"

"To Konoha."

"Why?"

"I know someone there who can help us both." Masao made his decision.

"Who?"

"Remember the man I told Ka-san about when I went on the really long mission last month?"

"T'one where you got caught?"

"Yes."

"I didn't like that story." Minato's grip on his father's back tightened as if he understood how close he came to losing his father.

"There was a man who figured out the extraction strategy and made the rest of the team make a new plan."

"What's an 'extachin strategy'?"

"Extraction," Masao enunciated.

"What is it?"

"What was the rest of my team trying to do?"

"To get you away from the other shinobi."

"Good, and what does strategy mean?"

"A plan! So that means 'extraction' means 'to get away'?"

"Almost, it means 'to get _out_ '."

"So the man figured out how the rest of your team planned to get you out?"

"Exactly. He figured out the entire mission and exactly what information we were stealing from Konoha."

"If he's a shinobi from a different place, how can he help us? Aren't we supposed to be his enemy?"

"Ultimately, I know he is a good man. Since we don't mean any harm to his village, I'm sure he will help us."

"How can he help us?"

"You know enough to figure it out."

The boy wiggled into a more comfortable position as he started to work out the problem. Masao didn't doubt he would figure it out, he knew enough about the situation, Masao just hoped it would take him a long time. An hour later, the sun began to rise, heralding their crossing into the Land of Fire. Masao sped up, pushing his limits in order to make it to Konoha before sunset. When the sun reached noon, Masao stopped, relieved his son still had not figured out his plan. Masao nearly swore aloud when he realized he had forgotten to stop for breakfast, he set the boy on his feet and pulled out two shinobi rations he found buried in one of his pouches. Masao opened one and held it out while shoving his own into his mouth.

"'M not hungry." Minato crossed his arms, refusing to take it.

Masao frowned. Minato should have been starving; his last meal was breakfast of the day before. Placing a hand on the boy's head, he used the smallest droplet of chakra he could manage to determine the boy's condition. His frown deepened when he noticed the boy unconsciously using the chakra, which normally enhanced his senses, to stave off the effects of hunger and thirst. Masao sighed and directed the chakra back towards their normal purpose.

Minato wrapped a hand around his stomach and sank to his knees, failing miserably at holding back

tears, as he suddenly felt the effects of the day without food.

Masao sat down and pulled the boy into his lap, holding out the ration and wishing Minato could understand the irresponsibility of his unconscious actions.

The boy inhaled the food and Masao waited for it to settle before resuming the run. Minato made a habit of alerting him of shinobi as they approached, helping them get near the village without detection. Suddenly, Masao felt Minato torn off his back. Masao spun around, drawing a kunai, only to find Minato dropping lightly to the ground from the low branch he grabbed, looking betrayed.

"You going t'leave me in-in K'n'ha!"

Masao sighed and put the kunai away. "Did you think about why?"

Minato shook his head.

"How old are you?"

"Four."

"How tall are you?"

"Ka-san says size doesn't matter."

"How much Taijutsu do you know?"

Minato crossed his arms stubbornly. "I wanna help too."

"I want you to stay safe, Mina-chan. It's not safe for you to come with me to help Ka-san and the rest of the clan."

"Not safe for you," Minato argued.

"Fine. If the man says he can't take care of you, you can come with me, but if he says yes, you have to stay there and behave for him, understood?"

Minato glared at him as Masao inwardly cursed at the gamble. If the man said no, he would not be able to divert Taki troops off the tail of the rest of the defectors.

Finally, the boy broke eye contact and conceded. "Understood."

Masao lifted Minato onto his back and started to run again, Minato grudgingly pointed towards all the shinobi they crossed. When they reached the walls of the city, it was long past dark. Masao cursed the circumstances conspiring against him. Luckily, sneaking into the village was easy with a Genjutsu and Minato pointing towards every shinobi. Taking a minute to orient himself in the village, he started towards the place he knew the man lived.

When he arrived, still undetected, Masao put his son on the ground and knocked once on the door. A few seconds later, a silver-haired man with a Konoha hitai-ate opened the door looking slightly confused. The instant he laid eyes on the man at his door, he slammed Masao against the nearest wall, both arms twisted painfully behind his back and a tantō against his throat, drawing blood.

"If that boy wasn't here I would kill you without hesitation. I still will if you don't explain yourself this instant, tell me how you got into the village, how you found me, and your real name, I know it's not 'Shota'."

"To-san!" Minato cried.

"Turn around, Mina-chan," Masao ordered.

Minato flinched at Masao's tone but obediently turned his back.

"My name is Namikaze Masao. Yesterday, my clan split and now I fear we are beginning a civil war. I don't want my son involved in the fighting. No one knows I'm here, I walked through the main gate surrounded by a Genjutsu of my own invention. As to how I found you, I make it my business to know everything about any shinobi capable of being a threat to me and my own. Kill me if you must, but I'm begging you to protect my son."

A long silence followed as the man considered the situation. "Do you mean any harm to Konoha?"

"Not unless Konoha means harm to me."

The man took Masao's weapons before releasing him, keeping the tantō between him and Masao.

"I can't say it's nice to meet you again Sakumo-san, but it is a relief."

"I never would have suspected you to be a Namikaze. That's twice I beat you, and twice you let me. You could have annihilated my team and me, yet you let yourself lose. Why?"

"It was all a part of the mission."

"You could have killed me the second I opened that door, why didn't you if I'm 'capable of being a threat' to you and your family?"

"While you have the potential to be a threat, you also have the potential to be a powerful ally as well."

"Why should I?"

"Because I can give you information about Takigakure to share with your village."

"How you I know you aren't just a traitor?"

"You don't think I'm a traitor anyways, so why does it matter? I'll tell you as much as I can, but not here."

"Fine, but we're going to Hokage-sama, not my home."

"Understood." Masao reached towards his trembling son.

"The boy stays here. My wife can take care of him until we return."

Masao hesitated. "I'm not leaving him unprotected."

Sakumo eyed the other man carefully. "Fine, but I don't trust you, so I'm going to carry him."

"No!" Minato snapped as Sakumo grabbed his arm. The boy jabbed a pressure point, forcing Sakumo to release him with a look of surprise and dodging behind his father.

"Interesting move you taught him."

"His mother taught him that." Masao knelt in front of the boy. "Mina-chan, listen to Sakumo-san."

"I'm not a hostage," Minato snapped back.

"Remember what we discussed earlier?"

"You have to go help Ka-san and the rest of the clan and I can't help."

"If you cooperate with Sakumo-san, I can go help Ka-san sooner and in a way, you're helping too."

Minato crossed his arms but allowed his father to propel him towards Sakumo, who blindfolded him and pressed the blade of his tantō against the boy's throat while Masao blindfolded himself. Sakumo put Minato on his hip and directed Masao towards the Hokage tower with the tip of the tantō on his back, noticing how Minato kept his face turned towards his father. He also noticed how Masao's hand flashing through motions.

"Stop, what are you signing?" Sakumo asked, pressing the tantō deeper into Masao's back. Minato's nails dug into his arm as if he could see what happened.

"I'm keeping my son calm."

"He's a toddler."

"Yes."

"He's a sensor."

"Yes."

"Is that why you're getting him out of the way?"

"No, I would appreciate it if you didn't channel chakra into your tantō or he's going to figure out how you do it and try it himself. Since you're holding him right now, and frightening him, I don't think you will like him trying it on you."

"Only the Sharringan can copy something like that."

"That's what I used to think, but the boy figured out how to unconsciously stave off hunger with his chakra in less than a day, most likely by just watching me."

"That's an A-ranked technique."

"And so is channeling chakra into weapons."

"And the signs?"

"Unique to my clan. He most likely learned them by watching my wife and I talk over his head. Sakumo-san, if you have questions about my son's abilities, ask him yourself. As soon as I know my son will be taken care of here, I need to leave. My wife and the rest of my clan is in trouble, they need me there."

"How do I know you don't have backup nearby and this isn't another mission?"

"On my family's life I swear to you that my son and myself are the only Namikaze in this village and there is no active mission in or around this village. I don't know about Konoha, but Taki children don't begin shinobi training until they are ten, and only then during wartime, so my son is nothing more than a talented civilian child."

"That's why your Genin are always older than the rest of the villages."

"Why else?"

"Rumor is—never mind. Walk."

Masao stopped signing to Minato and Sakumo noticed the boy's increasing tension. Luckily, the entered the Hokage tower shortly afterwards and made their way up to the Hokage's office.

"Who is this, Hatake-san?" The Sandaime asked, not looking up from the stack of papers he was signing.

"Namikaze Masao and his son," Sakumo answered, placing Minato on his feet, but holding on to his shoulder to prevent him from running towards his father. The tension spiked among the ANBU at the thought of a Namikaze so close to the Hokage. The ANBU only grew tenser as the boy found each of their hiding places in turn. "The boy's a sensor, from what I can tell, is better than most of ours. I believe his father is a medic, but all of the information on him is in the file I submitted a month ago."

"And why is he here?"

"His clan is at the beginning of a civil war."

The Sandaime looked up in surprise, "A civil war in the Namikaze clan or between the clan and the village?" He addressed Masao.

"In the clan. The clan leader decided to take an offensive and attempt a takeover of the hidden villages."

Instantly, ANBU appeared on either side of him, grabbing his arms, a third ANBU shoved Masao to his knees and held a kunai to his throat. A fourth ANBU leapt toward Minato, who spun around just in time and managed to duck, making a fool out of the ANBU, who nearly fell on his face without the expected resistance. Suddenly terrified, he backed against the wall, screaming, hands over his ears, eyes flashing between the two other ANBU who joined the original. An instant later, Masao had escaped the grasp of the three ANBU, recovered a kunai, and stood in front of his son, blue eyes flashing dangerously.

"Leave my son out of this."

"Stand down!" The Sandaime ordered. The ANBU took a few steps back and only Minato's crying filled the room. Masao didn't step out of the defensive stance until the ANBU put away their weapons. He then picked up his crying son and started to murmur into his ear, swaying back and forth, ignoring those assembled. "Now, Masao-san, continue. Why is your clan leader trying to conquer the hidden villages?" The Sandaime asked once Minato's cries quieted.

"I don't know why. Half of the clan and the village supported my brother's scheme. I gathered the half of the clan who didn't agree and left. On the way out of the country, we were attacked. My wife came up with a plan to escape. When I made my escape with my son and another child, I ran into my brother. We fought and he managed to slip past me long enough to kill the girl before Minato provided the distraction I needed to escape."

"How did you get to Konoha in a day?"

"The same way I escaped your ANBU."

"Why did you come to Konoha?"

"I have to go back and help my clan mates, but I can't protect my son and help them at the same time. I came here, because I know Sakumo from a recent mission and Konoha has a reputation for providing a haven for refugees. Since my son isn't old enough to leave alone, I hoped Konoha would be willing to take care of him, but right now, it seems you're more willing to terrify him."

"Why should Konoha risk drawing the ire of the other half of your clan, especially if the rumors about their prowess are halfway true."

"I don't deal with rumors, so I don't know how the other villages perceive our clan, but you're not going to draw any ire since no one but you know I'm here, not even the shinobi Sakumo marched me past on the way here, just as your ANBU won't remember me either if I don't want them to. I promised to tell Sakumo-san what I could about Taki and the other half of the clan in exchange."

The Sandaime studied the father and son for a long time, noting how oddly silent the child did not squirm in his father's arms. He nearly attributed the odd stillness and silence to the odd way Masao rubbed the boy's back, when he noticed the boy's eye watching him warily.

"Very well, my wife can take care of the boy until you return with the promised information. Should you die in the war you tell me about or fail to return within a year, the boy will remain here and eventually become one of our shinobi."

"Understood, Hokage-san; however, I don't trust you or your wife not to turn my child into a political prisoner like your founders did to me as a child. The Hatake agreement with your village allows for clan members to harbor those seeking political asylum without influence from the village leadership. Secondly, Sakumo-san the only shinobi in this village capable of standing against a Namikaze, should word of his presence escape. No offense meant, but there're ten times as many souls in this room who know of my presence here than those outside. Your ANBU can't keep secrets, Hokage-san."

"Very well, your son will remain with Hatake-san under a Henge as long as you provide the information my ANBU leaked and their identities."

"All on my return." Masao placed Minato on his feet.

The boy's hand stumbled through a series of symbols unintelligible to everyone else. _To-san, I don't want to stay here._

 _Why not?_ Masao frowned

 _They're scary and mean people. They're going to attack me as soon as you're gone._

 _Were you listening to what Hokage-san just said?_

 _He said I could stay._

 _He won't break that promise._ Masao assured him.

 _I don't want to stay here. I want to stay by myself somewhere else._

 _No, you're four years old, it doesn't matter how smart you are; you can't stay by yourself._

 _When can I stay by myself?_

 _When I say so._ Masao pulled out two blank scrolls and unrolled them, drawing a small seal on the corner of each. "Minato, if you want to tell me something, write it on this scroll then put a tiny bit of chakra into the seal and it will appear on mine. I can do the same the other way around, is that okay? You only have the space in this scroll and it will fill up fast if you're not careful. When I see Ka-san, I'll have her write something to you too." Masao tucked the scroll into one of the pockets inside Minato's jacket. _I have to go now, be nice to them, remember, that they're helping Ka-san and the clan too and you're representing all of us. Remember what I told you a long time ago about how they don't use chakra the same way as the clan and it's very dangerous to try. I love you, Mina-chan._

 _I'll remember. I love you too, To-san. Tell Ka-san I love her too._

 _I will._ Masao kissed Minato's forehead, giving the boy one last hug. "You needn't exert yourself in his care, he's a good kid, just make sure he has a bit to eat every day, otherwise, Minato can occupy himself. Here's enough money to cover a few weeks." Masao pressed a coin pouch into Minato's empty hand. _I'll be back before you know it with Ka-san and the others. Promise._ Masao stood and vanished a second later. Minato turned around slowly to face the rest of the room; rubbing one eye.

"Come on, Minato-kun. It's late and you should be asleep," Sakumo gestured towards the door.

The boy walked obediently towards the door, pressing the pouch into Sakumo's hand and began the walk back.


	3. Chapter 3

**The God War Part 2**

 _Kaori is Sakumo's wife. They were married about two years earlier._

 **(-)**

"Where are your shoes?" Sakumo asked as the stepped outside of the Hokage Tower.

Minato looked back at him as if he was stupid, a look Sakumo rarely earned. "Only shinobi wear shoes on missions."

Sakumo bit back a sharp retort when he remembered the boy's father's lack of footwear. "Why doesn't everyone wear shoes?"

Minato turned around but continued to walk backwards. "Takigakure is the Village Hidden by a Waterfall. Waterfalls make a lot of mist," Minato gestured with his hands, "So the ground is always wet. Shoes always be wet because shoes always touch the ground."

"What if someone steps on something sharp?"

"I don't know," Minato turned on his heel and continued to walk forwards. Sakumo felt more than a little uncomfortable as Minato led him back to his own house, not on the same path as he brought them originally, but on a shorter, more direct route.

"How good are you at sensing, gaki?"

"I don't know."

"How far can you sense?"

"I don't know."

The man could not figure out what Minato so he moved on with the questions. "How did you learn how to use the pressure point in someone's wrist?"

"I don't know."

"Okay, how did you learn your clan's signs?"

"To-san got his hands burned really bad. He talked when Ka-san signed."

"You must be a genius, gaki."

"I don't know what a genius is." The boy stepped aside so Sakumo could open the door to the house.

Sakumo just stared at him. Minato shifted uncomfortably, jolting Sakumo out of his bewildered trance so he could open the door and lead Minato inside. The boy brushed his feet off before stepping into the house.

"Kaori? Can you make up a bed in the living room? An acquaintance asked me to watch his kid."

"The Hokage is letting you watch a kid but not do any missions?" A woman asked from the room over. Minato caught a glimpse of dark hair opening the door of a small closet. "Have you eaten dinner, kid?" She asked. Sakumo gestured for him to follow her voice. Minato walked into the room and the woman glanced over her shoulder. "Who let him wear that? Does he have any other clothes?"

"He doesn't have anything else," Sakumo supplied. "I'll have to get him some clothes tomorrow so he doesn't stand out as much with that style. Have you eaten dinner, Minato-kun?"

"No."

"Our dinner is still warm, you can have the rest." Kaori turned around with a stack of blankets in her arms.

"He's adorable!" She squealed and would have crushed Minato in a hug if was a second slower at dashing into the adjacent room and slipping underneath the table. "And quick."

"Don't do that, Kaori! You scare the hell out of me, not to mention whoever you're attacking!"

"Where did he go, anyways? Not even some of the Chuunin can move that fast."

"He went into the kitchen."

"Go put these on the couch; I'll make it up later. Kids shouldn't be missing meals." She bustled into the kitchen and spooned rice into a bowl and set it on a place at the table, pulling out the chair so Minato could climb up. A second later, she picked up a plate with four yakitori and placed it in front of Minato. "It's not much, I wasn't expecting a guest. If you're still hungry, I can make more, just say something."

She left him alone in the kitchen as he ate quickly but politely.

"He's not from Konoha." She told Sakumo quietly. "Where's he from?"

"I can't tell you."

"Family name?"

"I really can't tell you that."

"Village?"

"No."

"Age?"

"I'm not sure. Four? Maybe three. Except for a lack of general knowledge due to his age, he's as smart as I am."

"He too coordinated for a four-year-old. Is he some sort of prodigy? Who is he?"

"Please, Kaori, stop asking, I can't tell you what I don't know."

She snatched the blankets from his hands and started to lay them over the couch neatly. "I have to leave early to help some kids at the academy. Do I have to come back at lunch to make sure you're taking care of him?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Okay." She hurried back into the kitchen and found Minato with his head on the table, staring at the half-empty bowl of rice and the three remaining yakitori. "You need to eat more than that, Minato-kun."

"I'm not hungry."

"Too bad. You're too thin and you're going to get sick if you don't eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"I heard you the first time. Finish the rice and you're done."

He looked up at her, trying to determine if she meant what she said. She crossed her arms and stared him down. Under her scrutiny, he finished most of the rice before pushing it away.

"Good enough now wash up. You can use the kitchen sink since Sakumo in in the bathroom." She swung a chair in front of the sink and scraped the little bit of rice into the trashcan, covering the yakitori to put in the fridge.

Instead of washing, Minato watched her carefully.

"Is something wrong?"

"Are you scared?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ka-san only tells me what to do when she's scared or sad and she always tells me why."

Kaori reached over to ruffle the boy's hair, but he dodged her hand and put the table between them. "I'm not scared or upset, Minato-kun. I have to order the children who are training to be shinobi to do things, otherwise they don't do it. I didn't realize I didn't have to do that to you."

"Do they like getting bossed around?"

"I don't know."

"That's not right. If they're trying to be shinobi, why do they gotta be told what to do? Are they lazy?"

"They're not lazy; they just don't like to behave."

Minato gave her another confused look before taking off his jacket to reveal the ripped and bloodstained t-shirt with the mostly-healed shuriken wounds.

Kaori held back a gasp. "Kid, you're a mess!"

"I'm fine."

Kaori opened her mouth to argue, but Sakumo cut her off. "I'll handle it, Kaori."

She left in a huff. Minato started to rinse the smears of blood off his arms. "Were you in a fight, gaki?"

"No."

"Then how did you get hit by shuriken?"

"I'm too little."

Sakumo paused before deciding not to ask him to elaborate. "Can I look to make sure they're healing right?"

Minato stiffened but nodded and pulled the tank top off. Sakumo soaked a towel and wiped the dried blood away. Two shuriken barely missed his spine, landing deep in the muscles of his middle back. Sakumo nearly whistled in surprise. Another shuriken cut a tendon to his arm and a fourth shuriken lodged in his shoulder dangerously close to a major vein. Yet, the boy carried himself easily and showed no sign of pain. Sakumo gently rinsed all the blood off the kid's back, careful not to agitate the wounds. Without a shirt, Minato looked smaller than ever, his bones protruding slightly further than what could be considered healthy.

Pulling a pair of shorts and a shirt from a younger clan mate out of his pocket, he held them out for the boy. "Why don't you change into these, you'll be more comfortable."

"I'm fine," Minato assured him, jumping backwards off the chair and reaching for his own shirt.

"'Fine' means everything is completely okay. Right now, that's not true. Your clothes are covered with blood and dirt; you have multiple wounds, which should make it nearly impossible for you to move properly."

"To-san healed them."

"He didn't finish healing them."

"They'll be better."

Sakumo took a deep breath to force back his frustration, thinking back to how his father persuaded him to cooperate. "How did your clothes get all dirty?"

"I'm wearing them."

"Do they normally get that muddy?"

"No."

"They why are they so muddy right now?"

"Ka-san wasn't there to ask me to change."

"Why does she make you change?"

"She doesn't want mud on the chairs."

"Do you change when she asks?"

"We don't have any chairs so she doesn't make me change." Minato could not hold back a smirk any longer. Sakumo's jaw dropped when he realized the boy successfully reasoned his way out of compliance. Minato snatched the clothes out of his loose hand and race out in a streak of yellow. As the bathroom door closed behind the boy, he started to laugh loudly. Sakumo sincerely hoped the boy's father would return soon, and hoped the kid was just being difficult for him as a stranger, not genuinely uncooperative.

When Sakumo managed to get over his shock, he put the chair back under the table and walked into the living room where Minato sat in front of the couch-turned-bed, wearing the overlarge, but clean, clothes, and kneeling seiza-style, his palms facing upwards and resting on his thighs, back perfectly straight and face tilted upwards. In an instant, Sakumo recognized it as meditation, but he seeing the kid genuinely meditating nearly knocked Sakumo flat on his back. Few children ever tried meditation, and Sakumo never before encountered a child willingly practicing it, much less one able to sit still and be successful at it. Curious to see how long the boy could maintain the stillness, Sakumo retrieved a book from his room where Kaori already slept, and took a seat in the chair a few feet away. After an hour, Sakumo began to check the clock with increasing frequency. Not even he could meditate for as long as the boy, nor did he see a reason to.

Unable to read any longer, Sakumo moved to the floor and spread out the late paperwork, which nearly suspended him multiple times, determined to know exactly how long the boy could meditate. By the time he finished, the boy's fingers began to twitch.

Sakumo expected him to stand up or at least open his eyes, but instead, he began to manipulate his chakra with instinctive dexterity. Convinced the boy could not be anything but a surprise, Sakumo began to write down his observations on a blank report meant for his mission tally. His eyes grew even wider when he noticed the boy's chakra becoming visible across his skin, encasing him in an armor similar to the rumored speed-enhancing technique from Kumo. Sakumo shot to his feet as Minato seemed to lose control and it started to lash back at him. The older man tried to get out before any damage could occur, but the boy's chakra was faster and an instant later, paralyzed him, filling the room with bright yellow light. After a full minute of panic, Sakumo realized the chakra was not harming him, only circulating through him with a comforting warmth. He started to relax when the boy cursed; the same curse his father used, and the chakra shot back into the boy, making him cry out in pain and clasp his hands against his chest. Minato opened his eyes to look at his singed hands. The sudden loss of the warm chakra brought Sakumo to his knees with a heavy thump, feeling sick.

"You not meant be here!" Minato cried and ran forward talking a mile a second, pressing his small fingers to Sakumo's temples, forcibly stabilizing his chakra system. "Please don't tell To-san, please don't get mad."

"What were you doing?" Sakumo demanded, harsher than he intended, but noticing how the boy's language sounded much closer to his age.

Minato recoiled at his tone. "No, no, no!"

"What was that?" Sakumo demanded.

"Chakra, chakra!"

"What do you mean? Only shinobi can use chakra, not civilian toddlers!"

Minato pulled his hands away, "I don't know! I don't know!" Minato backed away, trembling, shielding his face with his arms.

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Minato backed away until he curled into the corner of the couch. No matter what questions Sakumo asked, he would not speak anymore, nor look up at him.

"I'll see you in the morning," Sakumo gave up and left the room.

(-.-)

The sun only began to peek over the horizon when he managed a few fitful minutes of sleep, after spending most of the night trying to figure out the enigma the boy presented and listening to him tossing the entire night. Kaori woke up, dressed, and left for her job at the Academy with nothing but a quiet 'good morning.'

Figuring he would not be able to sleep any longer, Sakumo rolled off his bed and reluctantly put on civilian clothes. A quiet knock on the door interrupted him before he could start making a breakfast. He checked on Minato who was sprawled across the couch, a leg and an arm hanging off the edge. Sakumo carefully opened the door, wary.


	4. Chapter 4

**The God War Part 3**

 _The Sandaime was appointed as Hokage about four years before. He and Danzo are 36. Jiraiya is 17._

 **(-)**

"Hokage-sama," Sakumo greeted quietly, opening the door all the way.

"Is the boy still asleep?"

"Yes, would you like to come in?"

"If you have time."

"Considering you're the one who gives me orders and has the majority of control over my life, I would say you have the answer to that." Sakumo closed the door behind the Hokage.

"Is that a problem?"

"Considering you've all but benched me, a bit, but nothing I can't handle."

The Sandaime smirked back at the cheek and refocused on the purpose of his visit, peering into the room with the sleeping boy. "With all the rumors about the Namikaze clan, I expected teeth, claws, and the strength of a Bijū with demons for children." The Sandaime commented when Sakumo gave no indication of continuing the conversation. "When you introduced Masao-san, I didn't believe you, he seemed so plain and ordinary for a civilian, there seemed to be no way he could have been a ninja. Yet, when he stood between his son and the ANBU, I could see him holding back more power than I thought possible, releasing the exact amount he needed to make the ANBU think twice, but not enough to reveal himself as a high-level threat and lock down the building. It was as if he knew exactly how much chakra the seals would allow before going off. When he moved, it was faster than the shunshin, yet he used no jutsu. He let the ANBU catch him as if he expected it."

"It sounds very similar to what I remember of him from the mission."

"The man is easy to figure out. He cares for his family more than anything, yet at the same time, he is impossible to predict. His clan leader betrayed him, yet he still trusts his son into our care. I honestly don't know if the boy is a trap or a treasure."

"I believe him to be both. Last night was interesting, to stay the least."

"How so?"

"He is four years old, yet is smarter than I am and can argue better than most adults. I asked him to change into clean clothes and he deliberately manipulated me until he got himself out of changing, and he knew it the entire time, yet he still did as I asked. With all his intelligence, he seems to have a deficit of general knowledge disproportional to his intelligence."

"Interesting kid, and nothing like the demon I expected."

"On the way to the Hokage tower, his father revealed the boy possessed an incredible ability to learn, mastering how to use chakra to stave off hunger in less than a day, by only watching his father. He learned an A-ranked technique with no instruction. On the way back, I asked him how he learned his clan's signs, the boy picked them up in a week by only listening to his father respond to his mother's signs."

"Why wouldn't his father sign back?"

"It was the torture we attempted on him by burning his hands with chakra, completely destroying his ability to ever use chakra again. The man recovered from something irreversible, apparently in a week, and we indirectly augmented the boy's skills at the same time."

"The kid's a genius."

"In comparison to the rest of his clan, I don't think he is. When I mentioned the word, he didn't know what it meant, as if it was never applied to him before." Sakumo nodded as the Sandaime's expression soured. "Konoha can't afford to make an enemy of this clan. I was even considering we keep the boy and make him one of our own shinobi. The longer I talked to him, the more certain I became of that being the worst possible decision we could make. His father already showed he had enough influence in his clan to attempt to relocate half of it. With a bit of planning, I believe the man could and would destroy the village in a day if we even hint at taking his son. With half the clan behind him, if they are anywhere close to his level of prowess, they could destroy the village in an hour and I doubt we could even slow them down. The boy is fast enough to escape an ANBU, at least for a second, I have little doubt he could escape the village if pushed to it. Not only that, but I got a taste of the kind of power the boy holds. Remember the old story about how the Sage of Six Paths intended chakra to be shared, but shinobi weaponized it instead?"

"That's a myth."

"I'm not sure about that anymore. I think their clan uses a form of chakra for the purpose described in the story. I don't think he has the technique mastered, but he had better control over his own chakra than most of our Jōnin. Better than me. Being in the technique was amazing. His chakra filled the room, nearly physical. I expected it to burn me, kill me even, especially when the technique made my own chakra circulate. Imagine the safest, most comfortable place you can think of and that's what it felt like. When he lost control of the technique and all of that security vanished, I nearly begged him to do it again. I didn't even notice my own chakra was about to kill me. I don't know how, but the boy stabilized my chakra, probably saving my life. When I asked him to explain the technique, he panicked and I couldn't get anything else out of him."

Minato interrupted him by walking into the room rubbing his slightly bloodshot eyes. "C'n I use this?" He asked Sakumo, holding out an inkwell and quill, acknowledging the Hokage's presence with a glance.

"As long as you sit at the table." Sakumo continued his conversation with the Hokage with ANBU signs. _I'm curious to see how he would react if he was forced into hurting someone. I want to know if he could._

 _He's too young. If he was older, I would consider setting up a test forcing him into such a position, but—_

"I know that about me; you don't have to hide it."

"I wasn't aware we were hiding anything." The Sandaime responded evenly.

"Not you. Shadows." Minato slung a drop of ink at the two of them, who nearly broke cover in surprise as the drops hit. "And he rude." Minato pointed behind him, the last drop striking the ANBU in the forehead, staining the mask. Unfortunately, the last ANBU he antagonized was the same one who failed at catching him the night before. The ANBU immaturely yanked Minato's chair out from under him, but by the time the ANBU grabbed the leg of the chair, Minato already sat in the chair opposite, carefully dipping the quill in the ink and flinging a second drop at the ANBU's nose, which went through the eyehole of the mask when the ANBU tried to dodge.

"Heavens forbid that he meets the Uzumaki princess," The Sandaime grumbled pinching the bridge of his nose, earning him odd looks as the ANBU clawed at his face. "ANBU move to the perimeter. Now," The Sandaime ordered. "Minato-kun, if you didn't want them here, you could have asked me to tell them to leave. You don't have to antagonize and embarrass them."

"They meant guarding you. If ink kunai, everyone'd be dead. They did bad."

The Sandaime bit down a laugh as Sakumo smeared a droplet of ink across his forehead. _And you can't even scold him for it because he's right._ Sakumo signed, standing up to rinse off the ink before it dried.

Just to be ornery, Minato flicked a drop of ink at the Sandaime, who caught it, but a second drop slipped through his fingers and stained his nose. Minato covered his mouth to hide a laugh.

"Sensei!" Someone burst through the front door. Minato spun around in surprise, knocking over the inkwell, which the Sandaime quickly righted.

"Volume, Jiraiya." The Sandaime scolded as the new arrival swung around the corner.

For a long second, Minato stared at the new arrival. To everyone's surprise, Minato's face turned red.

"You were there!" Minato screeched. "Yori-kun 'most died 'cause of you!"

"What're you talking about, gaki? Sensei, the reports you asked for just came in. The Hime is looking for you to try and get you to sign a stack of—" Jiraiya squeaked as Minato leapt forward in a blur and punched him in the stomach. "What the hell, gaki? I don't even know you!" Jiraiya wheezed as he dodged a second punch to the face, grabbing Minato's arm and trying to hold him at arm's length. Minato twisted out of his grip and managed to land the third punch in Jiraiya's eye. Sakumo tried to grab the boy but missed and Minato nearly knocked Jiraiya out with a well-aimed jab at the back of his neck. Jiraiya landed on all fours, swearing. Wrapping both arms around the inexplicably aggressive kid and pinning his arms to his chest, Sakumo dragged him away, but not before one of Minato's flailing legs cracked one of Jiraiya's ribs. "I'm gonna beat you to a pulp, you little rascal!" Jiraiya gasped, his face mashed into the floor ruining the effect of the threat. "As soon as I can breathe," He amended.

Jiraiya turned to get a good look at Minato. The boy jerked against Sakumo's grip.

"You're that kid from my visit to Taki last year!"

"You could killed him!" Minato choked before giving up on struggling and rubbing his eyes furiously.

"How'd you even know it was me? I was wearing a Henge!"

"You use Senjutsu. No one can."

Jiraiya swore. "The old geezer mentioned someone would recognize me because of it but I didn't think—hold on! How do you know about Senjutsu?"

Minato glared at him. "You hit him too hard! You 'most kill him!"

"Listen kid, I panicked, and I'm sorry. It was my first solo mission, cut me some slack. I asked Tsunade-Hime to take a look at him when I got back to base and she said he would be fine so no harm done?"

"You stole my book," Minato snapped back stubbornly.

"That was your bingo book? I thought it was the older kid's! How old are you anyways? Wait, you're a Namikaze kid! What're you doing in Konoha?"

The Sandaime stood up and grabbed Jiraiya's ear, dragging him out of the room. "Thanks for the talk, Hatake-san." He said politely over Jiraiya's protests.

As soon as the door closed, Sakumo released the boy, wincing as the Sandaime began to chew out Jiraiya. "Alright, Minato-kun, what was that all about?" Minato did not move as Sakumo sat down in front of him.

The boy rubbed his eyes. "I played with other big kids. He ran away from big house. I saw my book and told him to stop. Yori-kun told 'im to give it back. He 'most grabbed me then hit Yori-kun with a big punch and 'most killed 'him." Minato kept talking, but Sakumo could not understand anything else. After a long minute of trying to understand Minato's mumbling, he attempted a distraction.

"How about we go and buy you a change of clothes? You're going to be here for at least a week, you're going to need something to wear which fits you better."

"No."

Minato stood up and walked into the living room, sitting on the window seat staring out on the main road, watching everyone pass and the Sandaime continuing to scold Jiraiya. Sitting down beside the boy, Sakumo followed his gaze, fixed on Jiraiya. "I won't try and defend him, but he's a good kid who attracts trouble. He spent almost a year training three orphans from Amegakure how to take care of themselves for no other reason than he could. So what if he messed up on a mission? He's far from perfect, just like the rest of us, including you, and at least everything turned out alright in the end."

"I know. I want to say sorry."

"What is Senjutsu? And how do you know about it?"

"Special chakra all over the place."

"What other types of chakra do you know about?"

"No."

"You're a strange kid."

Minato pulled his knees tight against his chest, and ignoring Sakumo, stared out the window as Jiraiya stomped out of sight, reluctantly following the Sandaime.

"I'm going to make breakfast," Sakumo sighed, walking out of the room. He made a small plate for himself and another for Minato, but when he returned to the window, he caught a glimpse of the boy's back, hood up, vanishing around the corner.

Biting back a curse, Sakumo raced out the door, only to lose the boy a second later in the crowd of people. After a minute of frantic searching, Sakumo caught sight of a small, blond head, when a horse nearly trampled the boy. The cart obscured him for a second as Sakumo leapt over the street, long enough for Minato to roll underneath the cart and attach himself to the lose boards underneath. Keep a careful eye on both Sakumo and Jiraiya, Minato stayed underneath the cart until it turned off the main road. He rolled out from underneath. Before he could stand up, strong hands grabbed his arms and set him on his feet. Minato squirmed as the Jōnin beat the dust off his clothes.

"You should be more careful, kid. You could've gotten hurt underneath that cart."

"Yes, shinobi-san."

"Are you lost, kid? You're too young to be out by yourself."

"No, shinobi-san."

"Where's your parents?"

Minato hesitated.

"Fine, don't tell me. Keep your hood down so people can see you." The Jōnin leapt up into the rooftops.

Minato ran when he sensed the Jōnin stopping to talk to Sakumo. At the same time, he felt Jiraiya break away from the Sandaime. Minato sped up, flitting through the streets to intercept him. Jiraiya turned down a nearly empty street and Minato caught up a second later, grabbing his wrist. Jiraiya reacted abruptly, grabbing Minato's wrist in turn and slamming him against the nearest wall, a hand on his neck.

"What the hell, gaki?" Jiraiya snapped when Minato's hood slipped off his head. "Sensei just told me no one is supposed to know you're here." He released the boy's neck, but still kept a firm grip on his arm, yanking up his hood. Minato twisted out of his grip, shoving the hood back.

"I'm sorry I hit you," Minato started sincerely, his fingers twisting into knots behind his back as he bounced on the balls of his feet and stared at Jiraiya's shoes.

"No hard feelings, gaki," Jiraiya assured him after a moment of surprise.

"How did you learn Senjutsu?"

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "How do you know about it?" He retorted. "Not even Orochimaru or my sensei or even the Nara knew anything about it until after the toads decided to teach me."

Minato shifted uncomfortably, taking a small step backwards. "To-san told me."

Jiraiya scrutinized the boy shifting uncomfortably. "I might not know a lot about your clan, kid, but I'm the only Senjutsu user since the Shodaime. I know for sure no one from Taki ever used Senjutsu. How did you find out about it?"

Minato took another, larger, step backwards, away from Jiraiya's intensity. "I don't gotta tell," he argued, crossing his arms.

"Fine, I'll just figure it out for myself, runt," Jiraiya grabbed Minato's arm, deftly foiling the boy's attempt to escape, and frog-marched him back towards Sakumo's house.

"Lemme go!" Minato shouted as soon as they stepped out into the main road.

"Hey! What're you doing to that kid?" Someone shouted and everyone near turned their heads towards them, disapproving scowls flashing around them. A dark-haired man pushed his way through the crown.

"Jiraiya-san, this is the third time this week! Do you always have to cause problems?"

"I apologize for the disturbance, Uchiha-san, I am on a mission."

"Ah, you're always on a mission of some sort. What could a child have to do with your 'mission'?"

"I am expected to bring this boy back to his guardian."

"And who might this boy be?"

"I'm sorry, that's classified."

"And who might his caretaker be?"

"Also classified."

"So what can you tell me about this 'mission'?"

"It's very classified?" Jiraiya quailed under the Uchiha's disapproving glare.

"Please release the child."

"He'll run and then I'll have to chase him down again."

"Who are you, kid?" The Uchiha addressed Minato.

"Make him let me go and I'll tell you."

"Let go of the boy, Jiraiya-san."

Jiraiya glanced around and grumbled, releasing Minato.

"Your name, kid," the Uchiha demanded.

"I never say when!" Minato promised, slipping past Jiraiya and racing down the empty alley.

"Hey!" The Uchiha shouted.

"I told you he would run!" Jiraiya grumbled, turning on his heel to race after the boy. The Uchiha followed.

"Damn, that kid is fast!" Jiraiya cursed, pushing his way past people, struggling to keep up with Minato, who had a much easier time weaving between the legs of the civilians.

Minato glanced over his shoulder, grinning.

"He's _laughing_ at us!" The Uchiha squawked indignantly.

Jiraiya managed snag Minato's hood, but the boy swerved and Jiraiya lost his grip, crashing into the side of a cart as he failed to match the boy's change in direction. The Uchiha leapt up to the rooftops to gain space, activating his Sharringan to find an opportunity to jump down and catch the boy, but nearly lost the tiny kid in the press of much taller adults, forcing the Uchiha to leap back down and continue to follow the boy on the ground. With an abrupt burst of speed, Sharringan increasing his ability to avoid the civilians, the Uchiha grabbed the boy's hood, yanking him backwards. Minato bastardized one of the Taijutsu moves he watched his father spar with, rolling with the sudden unbalance and pushing himself back towards the Uchiha faster than the man expected. Minato slammed face-first into his chest, slipping his arms out of his jacket and snatching his father's scroll from an inside pocket then slithering out the bottom while the Uchiha regained his balance.

A very loud, un-Uchiha curse turned heads as Minato raced away opposite of his previous direction, grinning wider than before. In his distraction, he lost track of Sakumo, who followed the sounds of the disturbance and dropped down in front of Minato. The boy's eyes widened and he dodged to the side. Sakumo's arm reached out to catch him, Minato spun closer to Sakumo and ducked, trying to dive through the man's legs as he widened his stance to give himself a better chance of catching the boy.

Minato underestimated Sakumo's speed and the man managed to grab his heel. Minato stumbled, off-balance, giving Sakumo the time he needed to grab the side of Minato's torn and bloody tank top, absently noting the shuriken wounds healing nicely, and spin him even further off balance as the civilians backed away quickly.

Minato landed on his back with an indignant squeal, trying to roll out of the way, while Sakumo grabbed his ankle and lifted him off the ground, upside-down. Minato tried to curl himself up and grab Sakumo's wrist, but exhaustion from the race made him give up after the first try, arms dangling a foot off the ground and grinning mischievously up at an exasperated and slightly annoyed Sakumo.

"Is this going to be a regular thing for you?"

Minato shook his head.

"Was there a reason for that stunt?"

Minato nodded, grin widening to ridiculous proportions, but his face beginning to turn blue with the difficulty of his breathing.

"Are you ever going to share?"

Minato shrugged.

"What's with the scroll?" The Uchiha asked, snatching it out of Minato's hand, dropping the boy's jacket at the same time.

With a massive amount of strength and breath, which Sakumo could not believe the boy still possessed after outrunning an Uchiha and Jiraiya, recently named one of the Legendary Sannin, Minato jerked towards the scroll, nearly wrenching himself out of Sakumo's grip and screaming wordlessly. Sakumo set the boy on his feet and snatched the scroll away from the Uchiha before he could open it, handing it back to Minato, who collapsed at Sakumo's feet, opening the scroll as if to make sure it was still unharmed.

"You are no longer needed here, Uchiha-san. Go back to your patrol." Sakumo responded at the Uchiha's indignant spluttering. When the man refused to move, Sakumo pulled his hitai-ate out of his pocket alongside a second badge. The Uchiha paled and left quickly. Missing the entire exchange, Minato slumped back against Sakumo's legs.

"The boy's just gonna get off? Without even getting scolded?" Jiraiya scowled.

"Did he damage anything?"

"No but—"

"Did he hurt anyone?"

"No but—"

"Did break any village rules?"

"No but—"

"Did he directly disobey an order?"

"Yes!"

"And what order was that?"

"He didn't give his name when the Uchiha asked for it."

"He didn't _tell_ me so! He _asked_. I never said I'd say then!" Minato interrupted between gasps.

"As far as I can tell, the boy has done nothing wrong, only twisted a few words, something I recall you enjoy immensely. Should I be reprimanding you for it?"

"No but—"

"I'm sure you have something more important to do than arguing with me over semantics. Have a nice day, Jiraiya."

The gathered civilians took this as their queue to resume their own business as Sakumo picked Minato up by the armpits and setting him on his hip, snatched the jacket out of the dirt, heading towards the nearest clothing store. After a few steps, Minato laid his head on Sakumo's shoulder, arms wrapping loosely around his neck, fingers fidgeting with his collar. At first, the familiarity took Sakumo by surprise before he remembered: no matter how intelligently or physically superior compared to most children his age; he was still only four, overly trusting with a contract to cause trouble.

When they reached the clothing store, Sakumo poked Minato's side. "I'm not picking out your clothes, kid." When Minato lifted his head, the man continued, "You're going to pick out at least three sets of clothes, no bright colors."

Minato looked around, confused. "There are clothes in stores?"

"Of course, where else would we get clothes?"

"The old ladies make them. They got good stories but To-san's better," The boy finished in a mumble.

"There are other ways to get clothes. In big clans, they often make clothes for themselves but for civilians or in little clans like mine, we go to a store and buy them."

"Why didn't the rest of your clan come back last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"It was just me and you and that lady. Why didn't the rest of your clan come and sleep too?"

"They have their own houses to sleep in, why would they come to mine?"

Minato's brow scrunched in confusion.

"How does your clan sleep?"

"It's cum-mun-mal!"

Without Minato noticing, Sakumo slipped a minor privacy seal, which prevented sound from traveling more than a meter away. While he had no qualms about using Minato to gather intelligence on other clans, he did not want the boy responsible for spreading his clan's information across the entire village.

"We sleep outside sometimes to can see giant booms of light in the sky. Once we get to be a shinobi, we get our own room!"

"I see why you're confused. In Konoha, there is the big village walls and there are littler walls separating the clan's houses from the civilian's houses. Inside each of the clans, there are smaller families and they each have their own house. My wife and I have one house and there are two other families who each have their own houses."

"Konoha is strange."

Sakumo laughed. "Sometimes it is; however, as strange as we might be, you have a job to be doing." Sakumo activated a seal behind his ear and put one on the boy's ear so they could easily hear each other, feeling slightly guilty for scolding Jiraiya, especially after stealing half his stash of pre-made seals. While Sakumo trained himself intensively in understanding seals, all of the Sandaime's attempts to help him learn to create his own seals backfired horribly. His handwriting just was not good enough, which greatly amused Jiraiya and whenever the subject came up, earned him merciless teasing. Instead of making his own seals, he took to stealing Jiraiya's remaining seals whenever he returned from a mission and held no intention of stopping, at least until Jiraiya figured it out and started actually trying to protect his things.

"That was a seal!" Minato said, his hand going to the spot behind his ear.

"Good job, it makes it so I know exactly where you are and can always hear you. I'll take it off at my house, but for now, I don't have to worry about you wandering off," Sakumo set the boy on his feet in the children's section. "Now go find some clothes, I'll follow you."

Minato wandered forward tentatively, staring wide-eyed at everything. Sakumo observed him carefully. While he could be fairly certain the tank top belonged to the boy, the jacket and pants were undoubtedly stolen, considering how poorly they fit. The jacket's sleeves rolled up twice and the hem nearly reached the boy's knees. The pants seemed ready to slip off his waist. Sakumo felt slightly annoyed by the fact he could see the boy's ribs through his shirt. Masao did not strike Sakumo as negligent, even if he did seem forgetful when it came to everyday essentials.

"Hey kid, do you eat with your clan?"

"On special days. I don't like it. Ka-san makes me eat."

"So what do you do all day?"

"I play by the gates."

"Do you go to school?"

"No. Mean teachers."

Sakumo kept his face carefully neutral. Under every circumstance he could think of, avoiding school would be a sign of a troublemaker or a kid headed nowhere, but everything he knew about Minato pointed towards a promising future. Sakumo chalked it onto the growing lists of questions to ask the boy's father. If he ever returned.

Minato touched one of the shirts frowning at the leaf symbol on the front. "What does that mean?"

"It's the symbol for the village."

"Why is it on a shirt?"

"So the children can show they are part of the village."

"But isn't it a _hidden_ village? Why's it everywhere?"

"You have a point, gaki, I don't know."

Minato turned away and started wandering towards the section with clothes for to-be shinobi. He pulled a long-sleeved, not-quite-black shirt off the shelf. It looked incredibly similar to the shirt his father wore when Sakumo encountered him on the mission. He looked up at Sakumo for approval. He nodded and held it up against the boy's back to ensure it would fit before folding it over his arm and gesturing for Minato to continue. The boy wandered forward stopping in front of a table with shorts of every color.

"Pick one," Sakumo urged, carefully keeping the slight impatience out of his voice. Minato picked up a pair the same color as his shirt. The half dozen hidden pockets on both the shirt and shorts did not escape Sakumo's notice as he held up the shorts to Minato's waist, quickly exchanging them for a better-fitting pair.

"I'm done." Minato said quietly. Sakumo sighed and picked up a second pair of the same shorts and shirt, plus a mixture of other essential clothing. Minato followed, one hand holding tight to the loose fabric around Sakumo's knee.

"One last thing, you need shoes."

"I don't like shoes."

"Why not?"

"They're heavy and they make me trip."

"You'll get used to it."

Minato shook his head.

"It's not safe to go barefoot. In Konoha, everyone wears shoes. There're sharp stones in the streets, and the steps are not always smooth."

"I don't step sharp things."

"I'll make you a deal. You only have to wear them when you're on the streets, okay?"

Minato looked up at him. "I don't like shoes. I can't run in them."

"You'll get used to it."

"No."

"Why don't you at least try them?"

"Ka-san doesn't make me wear them."

"What if I could find you a pair that doesn't trip you?"

"No."

"Fine."

"I'm tired."

Sakumo lifted the boy onto his hip and brought the clothes to the front counter.

"Is the kid going to the academy?" The woman behind the counter asked.

"Maybe, but not for another few years," Sakumo responded, surprised how quickly Minato fell asleep on his shoulder.

"He's adorable. Come back anytime."

Sakumo took the bag and left with a nod. When he reached home, he tried to lay the boy on the couch, but his little fingers refused to release him and Sakumo did not have the heart to force the boy away. Instead, he sat down and pulled out the book from the night before. Eventually, Minato began fully relaxing, his fingers releasing the tense grip on his shirt, a grip nearly exclusive to shinobi forced to sleep on the field. Sakumo shifted the boy so his head did not tip in an awkward position and give the boy a headache later on. He used a kunai to grab a blanket just out of his reach and lay it over the boy's bare feet. A soft knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!" Sakumo called quietly, "I'm in the living room."

Shinobi footsteps, poorly disguised as civilian footsteps entered the house as the newcomer found his way into the room. "Hatake-san," the man greeted.

Sakumo resisted wrinkling his nose at the smell of blood. Clearly, the man recently returned from a mission. Examining his dark robe, Sakumo noticed the flecks of blood on his sleeves and the bottom hem, alongside a tear in his robes, where a poorly bandaged wound peeked out. "Shimura-san," Sakumo responded. The man's eyes narrowed. Under most circumstances, Sakumo would give the man more respect, but the ROOT agent in his shadow put Sakumo on edge, the second ROOT inching his way into Sakumo's blind spot only increasing his tension. Shinobi rarely went anywhere but the mission desk before ridding themselves of the blood-smell. "What do you want?" Sakumo demanded, allowing the anger to fill his voice.

"That boy must leave."

"Why?"

"If his clan found out he was here, Konoha will be destroyed in a day. No one messes with the Namikaze children."

"First, his presence here is between myself, the boy's father, and the Hokage only. How did you find out?"

Danzo took a step forward attempting to intimidate the Hatake, but Sakumo's only worry was how to get Minato out of the room if the ROOT agents decided to be as forceful as the rumors said. "I have near-complete access to the Hokage's files. I am privy to every aspect of this village, you know that Hatake-san."

"You are aware of my opinion on the matter." Sakumo smiled slightly as the ROOT agent stepped on the paralysis seal behind him.

"Release my agent."

"Send them out and we can talk. I do not appreciate them searching my house. While the Hokage may be willing to allow you to act without constraint outside of Konoha, he has made it clear you are to remain within the law inside the village gates. Searching a superior's house without provocation is illegal."

"You are harboring an enemy; you have provided plenty of provocation."

"First, neither Takigakure nor the Namikaze are enemies of Konoha, even if we aren't on the best of terms after the recent incident. Second, I have the Hokage's permission to take care of this boy. Are you going to tell me what your visit is truly about, or are you going to continue to groundlessly accuse me?"

"Why didn't you kill the Namikaze when you had the chance?"

"Because I never had a chance. The man _allowed_ me to touch him. He _demanded_ I take care of his son. In addition, killing a shinobi who refuses to fight back is generally frowned upon. What is your purpose here?"

"I'm taking the boy."

"On what grounds?"

"Resistance of arrest."

"There was no attempted arrest. Tell me straight, Shimura-san, why do you want the boy?"

Danzo sneered.

"Please leave my home," Sakumo ordered.

"Not until you hand over the boy."

"I will not 'hand over' anyone to you Danzo, especially not without orders from the Hokage."

"You will follow my orders."

"Shimura-san, I am not on active duty right now, therefore the only individuals who may order me to act are a village official. You may be one of the Hokage's Council, but you have no power over civilians. Even if you were a village official, I am a registered shinobi, unless I have done something warranting arrest, I am not obligated to follow orders from anyone by a higher-ranked shinobi, a position which you do not have, considering only the head Jōnin is higher-ranked than I. None of these matters, considering this boy is under my protection, by the Hokage's orders. No order supersedes his; therefore, Shimura-san, you have no right to be giving orders, you have no right to search my house, and you have no right to threaten me or this boy in any way. I am well within my rights to order you to leave my home along with your agents and not to return without invitation, effective immediately."

Danzo hesitated before complying. As soon as the door slammed, Sakumo laid his hand on the boy's head, checking his pulse to see whether the intrusion woke him. Before he could, the boy sat up and looked at him with wide terrified eyes.

"I'm not going to let him take you," Sakumo assured him, hoping the boy awoke after Danzo made his threats.

Minato buried his face in Sakumo's shoulder, his small body trembling and tears dampening his shoulder. Sakumo wrapped his arms around Minato, holding him tightly, unsure of how to react.

Eventually the boy fell back asleep.

After almost two hours, Minato still slept and hunger began to gnaw at Sakumo. Unable to decide if the boy felt the same, Sakumo detached the boy's grip, waking him abruptly. Unlike most children, who rubbed sleep out of their eyes, Minato watched him carefully; eyes instantly clear of all sleep, a skill most shinobi fail to develop until after they begin active mission work.

"Its past time for breakfast," Sakumo explained. "I'm hungry, are you?"


	5. Chapter 5

**The God War Part 4**

 _Five weeks later._

 **(MINATO)**

"Sakumo-san! Sakumo-san!" Minato exclaimed, ripping the older man out of sleep as the boy leapt on top of him.

"It's not even dawn yet, gaki! What do you think you're doing?" Sakumo grumbled back, gripping the boy's shoulders firmly to stop him from bouncing.

"It's Ka-san!"

Sakumo allowed his instincts to wrench him out of the sleep he desperately wanted to return to and get out of bed, hurriedly donning hid Jōnin uniform. "How do you know, Minato-kun?" Sakumo asked, more to prevent him from running off without him than the actual need to know.

"I can sense her! Hurry, hurry, I haven't seen her in years!"

"It's been five weeks."

"Nu-uh! It's been years!"

"Don't let go of my hand," Sakumo ran beside the boy as he raced towards the village gates, reaching them just as the Chuunin guards allowed the bedraggled clan into the village, calling for medics.

"Ka-san!" Minato called happily as he caught sight of the familiar faces.

"Keep him back!" She ordered, blocking the view of someone lying on a makeshift stretcher.

"Ka-san!" he screamed, distressed as Sakumo stopped them abruptly. He recognized the tone well enough as well as the man on the stretcher. Despite feeling as though he should be helping them, Sakumo pulled Minato around the block, wincing as the boy screamed for his mother.

"Minato-kun, listen to me!" He ordered sharply, clamping a hand over the boy's mouth. "Something very bad happened and we have to get out of the way so the others can fix it."

"But Ka-san—"

"She'll be fine, she's in Konoha right now."

"What about To-san?"

Sakumo choked. "I don't know, Minato-kun." Masao was the man on the stretcher.

"But you're Sakumo-san! You know everything!"

"No, I know a lot but I don't know everything. Come on, we'll wait by the Hokage tower. Your mother will come by there eventually, and you can see her then, deal?"

"No, I want to see Ka-san now!"

"And I told you no," Sakumo responded with a harsher tone than he ever used with the boy.

Minato flinched and looked as if he planned to run towards his mother anyways. Sakumo grabbed his hand and started to walk briskly towards the Hokage tower, Minato stumbling along behind him.

"What were they hiding?"

"Someone got hurt really bad."

"Who? Ka-san's hiding their chakra."

"Your mother will know when you see her."

Sakumo made the boy sit down at one of the shogi boards in a park, which overlooked the main entrance of the Hokage Tower. Absently, he began setting up the board. Minato laid his chin on the table, eyes slightly unfocused as he used his exceptional sensing to watch his mother. With a jolt, Sakumo realized he cared about what happened to the boy's parents. He genuinely liked the boy, even though he rarely acted as expected. The boy pushed the shogi pieces around the board, not playing but making different designs. Sakumo pulled out his fourth book of the week, watching the boy gave him more freedom than he expected.

The back of Sakumo's neck prickled and he spun around in an instant, a kunai in hand, but immediately disarmed by the Hokage. "I apologize for sneaking up on you Hatake-san, could you and the boy follow me up to my office?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Sakumo replied as the Hokage handed back his kunai.

"But what about Ka-san?" Minato whined.

"You will see your mother shortly."

Sakumo studied the Sandaime as they made their way up to his office. His tense shoulders and stiff gate betrayed the man's stress.

He sat behind his desk.

Minato's eyes slid over the walls, confused. "Where're the ANBU?"

"They aren't here."

"Why?"

"They are busy elsewhere."

Minato lost interest and knelt down in the meditation pose the Sandaime recognized from Sakumo's description.

"Why do you need us, Hokage-sama?"

"The boy's clan has obviously come to Konoha, they are seeking temporary shelter. My council tells me to turn them away. You have been with the boy for five weeks; he has undoubtedly told you much about his clan. I want your opinion on whether I should accept them or turn them away."

"They are most certainly not a clan to cross."

"Why do you say that?"

"You haven't seen the Namikaze fight. I don't even think they have a Taijutsu style, which is uncommon for shinobi clans. They are so overwhelmingly fast they don't even need it."

"What about jutsus?"

"This is all in my reports, Hokage-sama."

"Yes, but remind me."

"From what I can tell, they don't even need jutsus. Their fights are too quick and they move too fast to make the utilization of jutsu necessary. The few I've seen are so overwhelmingly complicated and powerful I still haven't deciphered them."

The Hokage looked taken aback. "First the Sharringan can't copy it and now you can't analyze it?"

"I've never heard of a jutsu which works the way I saw. The only conclusion I can make is that it's not a jutsu, it's something else, but I have no idea what it could be."

"Very well, I'll add that to the very long lists of questions for this clan. Should I allow them to become a part of Konoha?"

"It would be a risk, but the tactical advantages, not to mention the reputation advantages it would offer, outweigh the negative aspects. I would be very surprised if anyone has publically declared themselves enemies of their clan."

The Hokage leaned back in his chair contemplating. "Very well, would it sound acceptable if I grant them shelter in exchange for making them responsible for attacks from the belligerent half of their clan?"

Sakumo's brow furrowed, unsure if the Sandaime expected his answer.

"Hatake-san, would you please pass on a message to the Namikaze?"

Sakumo nodded and the Sandaime held out a small scroll. He moved to pull Minato alongside him but the Hokage raised a hand. "Leave the child here; I'm not sure how much Masao-san told the rest of his clan. Should they ask, you are free to tell them his location."

After Sakumo left, the Sandaime watched Minato. He knelt there, perfectly relaxed, facing unerringly in the direction of the hospital. As much as he wished to question the boy, he knew from experience not to interrupt someone's meditation, the unpredictable effects on the individual possessed the potential to be catastrophic.


	6. Chapter 6

**The God War Part 5**

 _The Namikaze use their chakra differently than other shinobi. When they are around each other, they exchange chakra evenly until everyone has the same amount of chakra. This is unconscious. The children learn to do it as soon as they can understand. It causes a few problems, mostly making it difficult for children to sleep away from the clan, but the problem fades with age. When they are around others, they take a slight amount of chakra from everyone they meet but since the other person does not exchange their chakra, the process ends there._

 _Tsunade is 17_

 **(-)**

Sakumo hurried towards the hospital, curiosity overwhelming him about what could harm a man his best efforts probably could not even touch. The medics let him through with grumbled complaint when he held out the message scroll. In the small section of the hospital reserved for foreign individuals, Sakumo found the bedraggled clan kneeling in a small circle, holding the same pose in which he often saw Minato meditating. Medics periodically rushed in and out of one of the rooms. Standing just inside the door, he watched the exchange of chakra between the clan members, fascinated by the possibility of such an act. After a minute, a young woman extracted herself from the exchange to march up in front of Sakumo, snapping her fingers in front of his face to capture his attention.

"Do you need something shinobi-san or are you only here to gawk at us?"

"I am Hatake Sakumo, my Hokage asked me to deliver this to you," He held out the scroll and she took it warily.

"You are the Sakumo who has been taking care of my son?"

"You're Minato's mother?"

"Namikaze Kotone," She held out a hand. Against his instincts, Sakumo shook it politely. "I thank you for watching over my son these past few weeks. Minato has never been outside of the village before and doesn't know how to act around others. I hope he hasn't been too much trouble. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, Hatake-san," She took a step back, inviting him into the room while opening the scroll and reading it carefully.

"How is Masao-san?"

"Not good, but hopefully he will recover in time. They told me the best medic in Konoha was doing all she could."

Any halfway decent shinobi Sakumo knew would have demanded a reason for his query before answering. Kotone smiled in response to his confused look.

"We really do seek shelter in Konoha, Sakumo-san, and withholding information you can easily gain with or without my permission is a poor way to show our desire to cooperate."

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Every member of my clan is at least comparable to your level of genius."

"That's not a straight answer."

Kotone smiled slightly, "Masao commented on you being an exceptional shinobi, specifically a frontline fighter, so the best conclusion would be you would evaluate me on my abilities as a shinobi before my motives for doing so. An individual such as yourself would question my ability as a shinobi in relation to my ability to operate on which you would imagine as enemy territory. Your confusion began when I shared information without question. When you made no inclination to verify my report, the only conclusion I could make would be you did not expect me to hand over any information. Is that a straight enough answer?"

"I can see why Minato is so difficult to predict."

Kotone's expression turned worried. "I really hope he didn't cause trouble."

"He did, but it was nothing in comparison to the trouble our other children cause."

"I'm not sure how to react to that. Either way, your Hokage asked to see our leader at our convenience. We have no official chain of command but until we do, I've been chosen as spokesperson. If it's convenient for you, I can speak to your Hokage now, if you would be so kind to show me to his office. I may have infiltrated this village before, but I've never been to your Hokage tower."

Sakumo flinched at the thought of holes in their village security. "How did you get in?"

"In broad daylight through one of your side gate and disguised as a beggar," She replied readily and motioned towards the door.

Sakumo frowned but led her back through the hospital and out onto the streets. When he looked back, he noticed none of her clan accompanying. "You didn't bring any of your clan members to protect you?"

"Do I need to be protected from your village?"

"Not as of now."

"Then I see no reason to bring anyone along. My clan members need rest above all else, something they cannot afford until we are assured safety in your village."

The woman walked confidently behind him, her hands swinging naturally by her sides. Sakumo expected her to be closed off and tense whenever a shinobi walked past, but she showed no tension or mistrust as she smiled lightly at anyone who met her eye.

The Shinobi guarding the Hokage tower allowed them past without question.

"There is little security here," she commented as they entered the building.

"Our Kage is here, there is no need for tight security."

"You little brat!" Jiraiya's voice boomed above them.

Kotone flinched at the volume.

"And that's Jiraiya." Sakumo led the woman up the stairs and towards the door to the Hokage's office.

"Ka-san!" Minato shrieked and a blur of yellow hair rushed out the door. Sakumo barely managed to dodge out of the way as Minato rushed towards his mother.

She crouched down and wrapped the boy in a crushing hug as he started talking faster than Sakumo believed possible before his mother could return the greeting.

"Mina-chan!" Kotone interrupted sharply. The boy stopped chattering immediately. "I'll be happy to listen to you, but not until later."

Minato opened his mouth to protest as Kotone stood up with him on her hip.

"I have a very important job to do and you have to be quiet until I'm done, understood?"

"Understood," Minato echoed and wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his face in her hair.

She gestured for Sakumo to continue leading. A red-faced Jiraiya gawked and pointed as she walked through the door.

"You know that wicked little bastard!" He squawked.

"He's my son and I can assure you that he is a legitimate child," Kotone responded coldly. "I'm not aware of how you were brought up, _boy_ , but I'll tell you this once, do not curse in front on my son."

"I'm older than you and one of the Legendary Sannin! It's 'Jiraiya-sama' to you," Jiraiya blustered.

"I'll show you respect when you show me you deserve it, and I am two years older than you." Kotone turned her attention towards the Sandaime who quickly straightened under her attention. The instant she looked away, Jiraiya lost control of himself and rushed towards her with a kunai drawn. As soon as he stepped within arms' reach, she spun on her heel, barely jostling Minato, grabbed his wrist, turning the kunai away from her, darting inside of his retaliating fist, twisting the kunai out of his hand and slamming him on his back. She dropped one knee into his gut and pressed the tip of the kunai against his jugular. "I suggest you leave before you cause any irreparable damage, Jiraiya," she stood up quickly and backed away, turning her attention back towards the Hokage.

Jiraiya left quickly but before he left the room he sent an ugly look at the woman's back. Out of patience, Kotone threw the kunai and hit the doorframe a centimeter away from his eye.

Kotone cordially addressed the Hokage without any hint of hard tone she used to address Jiraiya. "I am Namikaze Kotone, and I would like to thank you for allowing my son to remain in your village while we attempted to settle the fighting between the two halves of my clan. I apologize if I was out of line in scolding your shinobi. Now, what do you wish to speak with me about?"

"Feel free to withhold whichever details you wish, but I would like at least some idea of what brought you here before I consider your request to remain in Konoha for any extended period of time."

"I will tell you what I can, but Masao is the only one of us who knows the full story, so you will have to ask him to fill in what I don't know."

"Where's To-san?" Minato interrupted, squirming in her arms.

"I'll tell you later, Mina-chan, why don't you take a nap?"

The Sandaime motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk. She took it gratefully, maneuvering Minato to lie across her lap, holding his head over her heart and covering his eyes to block out the light of the room. His fists clutched her shirt, but he settled comfortably against her, his breaths slowing almost immediately.

"Just after Minato was born, our previous clan leader died unexpectedly. Because Masao was his firstborn son, he was the first considered for the position, but for reasons he refused to share, he declined the position. With neither Minato nor I able to take the position, for obvious reasons, the title went to Masao's younger brother, Osamu."

"You were considered for clan head?"

"I was next in line for the position, but no matter how powerful of a shinobi or how great a medic Masao is, he cannot take care of a young child, especially a newborn, for the amount of time I would be taken away from my family while holding the position. The mantle moved to Osamu. For a year and a half, he hid his plans for taking over the hidden villages. It wasn't until a few months ago that he began to train children of the clan in shinobi arts. In our clan, children are not considered candidates for position as shinobi until they are at least ten years old, but it is often much later before they are allowed to join. He recruited all except two of the youngest children, Minato and a girl, forcing them to train in a specialized program. While this would be acceptable in a time of war, to leave the elderly and children to defend the village while the shinobi left to fight, during a time of peace, it is unacceptable. Masao confronted the clan council about it but the overwhelming majority of them agreed with Osamu's actions, even though it was their children placed in the program. Masao discovered Osamu to be blackmailing them. Shortly after this, word of Minato's abilities as a sensor spread throughout the clan, leading Osamu to attempt to force Masao into placing Minato in the program. That was the final straw and Masao shared everything with the rest of the clan. Surprisingly, half of the clan genuinely supported him. The village leader sided with Osamu, forcing us to flee in order to avoid a fight and trapping the children in the crossfire."

"How many children came with your group?"

"Three. A boy beginning in Osamu's program and his parents managed to extract him before it was too late. There was another girl, but she was killed during one of the fights between Masao and Osamu. Minato is the third child."

"And the current situation?"

"Both Osamu and Masao are severely injured, and everyone else is mostly healed, thanks to Masao's efforts. I don't know how long until they attempt to attack again, but if you grant us shelter, we will defend the village from them. I will not hide the fact that we are desperate. We have little choice but to accept almost any terms you have to offer and are unwilling to threaten you into acting in our favor. We don't have anything to trade except information, most of which is useless to you. We have no choice but to trust you not to abuse that desperation."

A long silence interrupted her and Kotone turned her attention towards Minato while she waited for the Hokage's decision. While he watched her carefully, the Sandaime noticed how perfectly relaxed the woman held herself, tensing only against threats towards her son, exactly the same way as his father.

Kotone shifted Minato onto her shoulder and gently probed the scars left over from the shuriken.

"They healed nicely," she commented softly, smiling softly at her son. "He hasn't slept well here, has he?" She asked Sakumo.

He shook his head in response.

Pulling her legs up onto the chair, she turned her face towards the ceiling, ignoring the eyes watching her every move.

"Do you wish to remain in Konoha permanently?"

Kotone jerked her gaze towards the Hokage in surprise. "Yes," she answered softly, then corrected herself. "That is certainly and unexpected, and welcomed, proposition but I cannot in good faith tie this village to my clan until the war we are fighting is over. I won't risk anyone but us becoming targets."

The Hokage studied her carefully. Unconsciously, she pulled Minato closer. "I will prepare the paperwork for you to remain in the village as refugees until your war is over. I expect you to defend against threats from the other half of your clan. It is customary to assign shinobi as escorts, since you have already displayed trust in Hatake-san, I will assign him to you for security purposes."

After a few minutes of pleasantries, Sakumo escorted Kotone out the door and back towards the hospital.

Minato woke briefly on the way back, but quickly settled. As soon as they entered the room Sakumo found the clan in, a voice screamed his name from the room where medics worked on Masao. "Hatake! Go get that bitch of a medic head down here this instant! I have no idea what's going on!"

In an instant, Sakumo shunshined up to the office of the head medic and they returned with her a minute later. The grey-haired old woman hobbled into the room slamming the door behind her, cutting off all sound from the room.

The clan still sat in the circle, meditating.

After a minute, the grey-haired woman emerged from the room and waved Kotone over. "What's the problem?" she asked, frowning.

"The healing chakra isn't having any effect on him; do you have any explanation for why?"

Kotone sighed and turned to shove Minato into Sakumo's arms. "I know exactly why, let me in there and I can fix it."

"You're a medic?"

"No, our clan has special ways of manipulating chakra, all of us know how to make it so standard medic-nins can heal."

"And you didn't think to speak up sooner?"

"It's never been a problem before!"

"Come on," The grey-haired woman gestured. "My name is Haruki. Tsunade is the girl in charge of the healing."

Kotone hurried into the room and took a place by Masao's side, opposite of Tsunade. "Unless you can do something to help, get out, lady," Tsunade snapped.

"I'll explain everything later, but in order for your chakra to heal, it has to be manipulated in an entirely different frame of mind. If you channel your chakra through my hands, that problem will be immediately neutralized."

"Do you have any idea what kind of damage that will do to you?"

"I'll heal, but he won't if you don't do what I say."

"Fine, it's on your head," Tsunade snapped and grabbed Kotone's hands, eyes widening as she did as she was instructed. "This shouldn't be possible!"

"Just finish the healing!" Kotone gritted out, repressing the instinct to jerk away as Tsunade's chakra burned into her hands and tore away her chakra for the healing.

"It's healing three times as fast!"

Kotone squeezed her eyes shut, fighting her instinct to jerk away.

"That's good enough, he can heal on his own now," Tsunade yanked her hands away and rushed around the hospital bed to catch Kotone as she stumbled backwards, exhausted. "Dammit, lady, why didn't you tell the medics your condition?"

"I'm fine, Tsunade-san."

"'Fine' does not apply to you right now. You've been living off chakra for at least two weeks. Is the rest of your clan in the same state?"

"Tsunade-san, we've done this before and you can't do anything to help—" Kotone grabbed Tsunade's wrist as she knelt and began to fuss with a bandage around a nasty cut on Kotone's ankle. In retaliation, Tsunade flicked her fingers and chakra-controlled ropes burst from the chair and jerked Kotone back against the chair.

"Listen, woman, I don't know where you're from, why you're here, or who you even are," Tsunade growled, her temper breaking through her patience. "All I know is that there are people here who need medical attention and if the rest of them, who I presume to be your family or clan, they have the same attitude for taking care of themselves as you do." The ropes vanished. "I do not take kindly to patients telling me what they do or don't need. This is my wing of the hospital and I'm in charge. Do as I say or I'll make you. Am I clear?"

Kotone stood up and responded softly and clearly. "I've worked alongside my husband as support and defense for nearly ten years. While I may not be a medic, I know more about medical Ninjutsu and have more firsthand experience than any teenager such as yourself can ever dream of. I intimately know the limits of medical Ninjutsu, and I know my clan better than you. If that's not credential enough for you to listen when I tell you there is nothing more you can do for us, I'll remind you that my clan uses chakra differently and even the best techniques you know cannot help us, as you noticed a few minutes ago. Be careful with your assumptions, young lady, and keep control of that temper of yours."

Tsunade balled her fists.

"I have no problem with teaching you a way you can heal my clan mates without my help, but it will have to wait for later."

Tsunade's face lit up.

"For now, the only thing you can do to hurry along our recovery is to find my clan mates a safe place to sleep."

"I'll make sure you all are brought meals and bedding to sleep here until the Hokage can arrange something more permanent." Tsunade all but skipped out of the room, her ponytail bouncing with her excitement.

"There isn't much that can get that girl so excited," Haruki commented. "But she does have a point; at least let us do what we can about your injuries without jutsu."

Kotone sighed in capitulation, sitting back down slowly as Sakumo cracked open the door, Minato still asleep in his arms.

"You can open the door, there isn't any danger," the old woman permitted. "Line up the rest of the clan to be properly tended to before they are allowed to sleep and possibly compound problems."

Kotone nodded her agreement, mostly for the benefit of the clan member hovering at Sakumo's shoulder. Holding out her arms for Minato, Sakumo complied and gently laid the child in Kotone's lap, curiously assessing Masao's condition, his face paler than normal.

Her burnt hands barely bothered her as she ran her fingers through Minato's hair, strengthening her grip on the boy as if someone stood ready to take him away. Kneeling slowly, Haruki changed the bandages around Kotone's ankle before moving outside to care for the others. With careful watch, Sakumo stood in the doorway.

"You have questions," Kotone stated, gesturing towards the stool at the end of the hospital bed. "I won't answer what you don't ask."

Sakumo watched her curiously as he approached and moved the stool so he could sit with his back to the wall. "Who could have put Masao-san in this state?"

"His brother. The man is the most powerful of us all. Why are you so surprised someone can?"

"I've faced too many Namikaze to not be surprised when one of you gets hurt. When he fights, it's like…" Sakumo trailed off searching for the right word.

"Like he's a god?" Kotone finished after a long silence.

"He can create things with a turn of his hand, he always seems to know what's about to happen. No one knows much about Taki and only the best shinobi know anything about the Namikaze in general."

Kotone frowned, "That's strategically foolish."

"But what other option do we have to preserve morale?"

Rubbing his face against Kotone's shoulder, Minato woke, his small hands clinging tightly to Kotone's clothes.

"Did you have a nice nap, Mina-chan?" Kotone asked, holding the boy even tighter.

Nodding quickly, Minato squirmed as Kotone rubbed the grit out of his eyes. "I missed you Ka-san."

"Why aren't you opening your eyes?"

"But if I open them you'll go away!"

"No, I won't, Mina-chan, I'm gonna stay with you all day."

"How?"

"I heard you caused some trouble for Sakumo-san."

"So?"

"True. What kind of trouble did you cause?"

"I hit all the ANBU with ink when the Hokage visited. Then I hit Sakumo-san and the Hokage but I was careful, I didn't get ink on anything else!"

Kotone raised her eyebrows in surprise, and then formed a hand seal so quickly Sakumo barely registered the movement. "There's a bottle of ink and a quill under my chair, get it and hit Sakumo-san again but don't get the ink on anything else. You have ten minutes."

Minato grinned and immediately began to try to wriggle his way out of Kotone's grip, giggling. Sakumo watched, surprised, unsure of Kotone's motive behind the challenge and unsure if Minato could actually succeed. "That's not fair! You're bigger than me!" Minato huffed after ten seconds of wriggling. Kotone tweaked his nose in response and Minato took the opportunity to swing his legs off the chair and wrap them around Kotone's good leg, quickly followed by both arms.

In retaliation, Kotone tickled his sides, forcing him to let go and hauled him back into her lap. "Figure it out, Mina-chan."

Minato huffed and jumped up to wrap his arms around Kotone's head, blocking her vision. Sakumo's eyes widened as Minato's chakra moved towards the ink jar beneath Kotone's chair and the quill flung a drop of ink at Sakumo's face. His eyes widened in surprise as the boy fell backwards to see if his idea worked, trusting his mother to catch him before his head struck the ground.

"I did it!" He giggled as Kotone started to laugh at his shocked expression.

"It was a chakra control exercise," Sakumo concluded, wiping the spot of ink off his cheek.

"Nothing more than a game, I expected you to at least stop the ink."

"A child shouldn't be able to control their chakra to that degree."

Kotone frowned. "Most children shouldn't, but our children have so much chakra that it becomes dangerous for others if they don't have any control over it, especially as they grow older and gain more. I assume he's taken to meditating every night in order to release enough energy to sleep, but there's more effective ways to solve the problem. One of those is puzzles forcing him to use his chakra to solve, like the one I just gave him."

"I see," Sakumo responded turning his attention towards Minato, hanging upside-down fidgeting with his mother's shoes.

"No you don't, but you'll figure it out soon," Kotone raised her legs sharply, throwing Minato into the air with a surprised yelp, his hands brushing the ceiling, then screaming with laughter as pale gold chakra attached to the back of his head, the middle of his back and his ankles to swing him around the room. He screamed with laughter and showed more energy than Sakumo ever saw.

Sakumo's eyes widened at the impossibility of what Kotone could do before noticing that the chakra was not Kotone's but Masao's.

"To-san!" Minato exclaimed waving his arms as he sailed around the room again before settling on the bed beside Masao. Kotone slumped backwards. Sakumo stood up and left quietly while Minato jabbered incoherently. Just before Sakumo closed the door, Masao caught his gaze and nodded slowly. Sakumo felt strangely happy he pleased the man.


	7. Chapter 7

**The God War Part 6**

 _Healing chakra inserts itself into someone in order to heal him or her. In the Namikaze clan, they can only accept so much chakra into their system before their body stops accepting it or they give chakra in return. Normal medics give chakra, but they cannot accept it so their healing techniques stop working. Before, Kotone allowed Tsunade's healing chakra to flow through her hands while she directed the chakra Masao's body was attempting to give back into herself. Tsunade learns to accept the chakra and use it to heal alongside her own. When someone uses his or her own chakra to heal, it speeds up the process. The Namikaze call it a technique for simplicity even though it is not a jutsu._

 **(-)**

Masao pushed himself into a more comfortable sitting position, ears listening to the run-on story Minato told and eyes watching Kotone signs as she explained the situation. He pieced the information Minato gave on the village together with Kotone's information, gaining a better understanding of the situation.

As Minato started to tell of the most recent events, the door to the room slammed open.

"What are you doing sitting up? You nearly died two hours ago!"

"I'm fine—"

"Let me repeat myself, _you nearly died two hours ago_."

"Kunoichi-san—"

"Don't you dare pull the same respectful routine as that woman!" Tsunade stomped in and yanked Minato off the bed. The boy screamed and twisted uselessly in her grip as she tucked him under her arm and pressed a hand covered with green healing chakra against Masao's stomach, talking over Minato's indignant screams. "You had massive ruptures in almost every organ and it was all I could do even with her help to seal them. It's still not healed properly—" she stopped abruptly.

"I can heal myself, Kunoichi-san."

"You shouldn't even be conscious—"

"Please unhand my son." The authority in his voice made Tsunade instantly drop the boy, only to catch the back of his shirt before he could hit the ground and get hurt.

Minato quieted at the abrupt changes in motion before scrambling underneath Masao's bed and clinging to one of Kotone's legs as she stood up slowly.

"Tsunade-san—" Kotone began, snapping the teen out of the shocked trance Masao's tone put her in.

"I apologize for my outburst." Tsunade turned on her heel to run out of the room, but Kotone zipped in front of her, Minato still clinging to his mother's leg and looking up at her with his tongue sticking out.

"Minato!" Masao scolded in a low voice. Minato turned his face into Kotone's loose pants while she talked over the entire incident.

"Tsunade-san, I promised to teach you a new technique."

"You must be a phenomenal kunoichi for Kotone to teach you anything," Masao noted.

Tsunade's face turned red.

"Do you have a moniker yet, young lady? If not, I'm sure we could find one for you."

"What are you insinuating?" She spun around angrily only to freeze when she saw Masao's soft smile. "You did that on purpose!"

"Yes, do I have your attention now?"

Tsunade nodded once.

"Good. I really do want to help my clan mates, and I'm sure you're eager to learn something new."

She nodded again and Kotone guided her towards the side of the bed, moving easily as if Minato was not clinging to her leg.

Kotone lifted Minato onto the bed. The boy curled against Masao's side watching carefully and holding perfectly still. While Minato settled into his place with Masao's arm around him, Kotone guided her hands to Masao's collarbone and began to explain the process. Not long after, Minato fell asleep, arms wrapped tightly around Masao's bicep. An hour later, Kotone declared Tsunade ready to try it, but she balked at the idea, jerking her hands away.

"Don't worry about making a mistake, Tsunade-san, I won't let you mess up," Masao assured her but she shook her head.

"I shouldn't be trying this on someone before—"

"You did the exact same healing as when you channeled your chakra through my hands," Kotone reminded her.

"He was about to die then; it was an all or nothing decision—"

Masao interrupted, "Tsunade-san, my chakra control is among the best in the shinobi world. I can even control others' chakra in close proximity. While you use your healing chakra on me, you can't make a mistake."

"You can heal yourself—"

"True, but that will take a long time and I can't help the rest of my clan. I know you're smart, young lady, the only thing that matters in this technique is the strength of your mind."

"Fine, this is on your head."

Masao smiled reassuringly as Kotone guided Tsunade's hands over Masao's chest. "Start with the heart, allow your chakra to form a connection with his and flow in while his flows into you. Use one hand to accept the flow and the other to heal. When his chakra begins to wrap around yours, don't try to control it or push it away; allow it to join with yours and speed up the healing process."

"This doesn't feel right," Tsunade grumbled.

"You're doing it right," Masao assured her, focus on the healing, not on the chakra exchange.

"It's healing too fast."

"Can you keep up?"

"Yes, but this isn't normal."

"You're right, it's not healing as fast as normal, but I think that's just from the long-term exhaustion. The others will be easier to heal."

Tsunade made a face at him. "Heart and lungs are mostly healed," She announced after a minute and drew her hands away.

"Good job, Tsunade-san," Kotone said

The teen smiled at the praise before slumping back onto a low stool. "I don't like using people to try techniques on."

"If you didn't have a natural inclination to Iryo-Ninjutsu, you would be practicing on a mouse, but since you know what you're doing and Kotone's a great teacher, I figured it would be fine. Besides, when it comes to charka, it takes a lot more than you have to cause harm when I'm around."

"That doesn't reassure me."

"Give me five minutes to finish healing myself and I'll supervise while you start healing my clan mates."

"You can't heal all that damage in five minutes."

"I bet he can," Kotone interjected.

"Ten ryo says he can't," Tsunade retorted.

"Aren't you a little young to be betting?" Masao asked.

"I'm eighteen!"

"Almost, but not quite, don't lie about your age to a medic-nin."

"Tell you what," Kotone interrupted before Tsunade could express her anger. "If he can do it in less than five minutes, you have to study under him for a month, if you can't, he'll be working under you for the same amount of time."

"You are so going to lose, old man," Tsunade snapped, crossing her arms.

"Watch me, time starts now." Masao pressed his right hand against his abdomen.

"Why are you using your right hand? You're left-handed."

"It's not worth waking Minato up over."

Four minutes later, Masao announced himself finished. Tsunade pressed a hand against his forehead doubtfully.

"How can you ease your own chakra exhaustion? It would be a paradox—" Tsunade demanded, stomping her foot while Masao sat up slowly, shifting Minato into a more easily carried position and wrapping one of the smaller blankets around him.

"I know a lot of tricks. Anyways, the technique only works for me; it's too dangerous to teach to anyone else."

"Are you kidding? To be able to ease chakra exhaustion—"

"Would be a dangerous ability to have," Masao swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "I'm a medic so I know the limits of my own body, but most people don't and I have a feeling that includes you."

"Tsunade-hime!" The call rang throughout the building.

"If he comes in here, I'm going to kill him," Tsunade grumbled.

Before she could make good on her vow, Jiraiya burst into the room, took one look at the small, surprised family and wrenched Tsunade in front of him. "Save me, Tsunade-hime! They're multiplying!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tsunade grunted as he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in the small of her back.

"They're a family of demons!" Jiraiya answered readily, voice muffled

Tsunade tried to twist out of his grip but she could not pry his hands off her waist. "Let me go, baka!"

Jiraiya tried to shuffle out of the room, keeping Tsunade between himself and the family. "Sensei wants to see you."

"Well, he can wait. I need to finish here first!"

"Those demons have Minato-kun!" Jiraiya cried suddenly, jerking out from behind Tsunade.

As soon as he stepped fully into view, Masao automatically shifted into a defensive stance, holding Minato behind Kotone and using the rest of his body to complete the shield. "Calm yourself, young man, this is a hospital," Masao ordered, hands flashing through a jutsu to immobilize Jiraiya when he continued towards them.

His words held the opposite effect as Jiraiya started to struggle violently against the jutsu.

"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade shrieked, hitting him over the head. Jiraiya collapsed, suddenly released from the jutsu.

 _Who is this?_ Masao signed to his wife.

She shrugged in response. Placing Minato gently in her arms, he stepped forward with a hand outstretched to help him to his feet.

"I believe we got off to a poor start, Jiraiya-san. I'm Namikaze Masao, Minato's father. I can see you've already met my wife and son."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed and a second sharp rap on the head from Tsunade sent him leaping too his feet and gingerly shaking Masao's hand.

"I'm Jiraiya, The Great—"

"Nice to meet you," Masao interrupted before Jiraiya could continue. "While on the battle field, my wife and I have been compared to demons; however, I would like that comparison to remain on the battlefield and not become a title in everyday life, just like I'm sure you don't like being called a child or a joke in a serious situation, understood?"

Jiraiya's jaw hung open at Masao's words and the silence stretched on awkwardly. Finally, Jiraiya regained some of his composure. "How did you," Jiraiya jabbed a finger at Masao, "Find out about Senjutsu?"

"You're a much better ninja than most people give you credit for, correct, Jiraiya-san?"

"No one knows the extent of—"

"All that bluster is just a front you put up to hide something else. The logical answer would be you're hiding a past, but I don't think you have a problem with that. It's something else. You're wearing civilian clothes and your hands were recently stained with ink. To most shinobi, you would appear to be a scribe of some sort, except the quill sticking out of your pocket is a Fūinjutsu pen, the tip is too sharp for paper, it's for creating blood seals."

Jiraiya looked torn between confusion and anxiety.

"Your act isn't perfect yet, kid. Your hands are too stained. No self-respecting scribe would allow their hands to gather that much ink and risk smudging their work. You would do better to go without weapons. You've given me more information than you're trying to hide. The quill tells me you're reasonably adept at Fūinjutsu, your age tells me you're only beginning to find your specialty in the shinobi arts, by your outfit, I would guess it's in infiltration and espionage. Now back to what you're hiding. I already mentioned it's not a past, so that leaves something bigger than yourself. You mentioned your sensei when you first entered. You didn't come to deliver orders, you're fulfilling them." Masao used the pretext of tucked the trailing blanket around Minato to shift himself between Jiraiya and the rest of his family. "You named Minato immediately, even though the blanket covered any way for him to be immediately identified. Someone sent you here."

Fists clenched, Jiraiya took a defensive step backwards.

Raising his hands in surrender to calm Jiraiya, Masao continued, "But you disagree with the reasons for your mission. Even though you act immature and irresponsible, you're not petty, unsympathetic, or selfish."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Jiraiya smirked, but the scorn in his voice didn't fit his expression of fear.

"This whole front isn't put up for me."

"Enough," Jiraiya snapped defensively. "You never answered how you knew about Senjutsu."

"If someone walked into this village with tainted chakra, wouldn't you do your best to find out everything you can about them?"

"My clan specializes in chakra manipulation; you can understand my curiosity. Outside of your summons, I assume only your team and your sensei know about your use of Senjutsu, correct?"

"And you, that boy, her."

"Relax; I don't know anything more than its name and no one else knows that. I paid a visit to your village a while ago and that is all the information I could turn up."

Jiraiya studied him carefully. "Enjoy the rest of your day." With a breath of displaced air, Jiraiya vanished.

Kotone detached Minato's grip from her shirt and placed him in Masao's arms. "I'm going to keep a watch outside the doors."

Nodding once, Masao wrapped the blanket tightly around Minato, shielding his face from the light while Kotone hurried out of the room. Tsunade stood dumbfounded, staring after Jiraiya.

"Tsunade-san," Masao interrupted her thoughts. "We have my clan mates to heal."

"Yes, sir," She refocused, leading the way out of the room. Except for a handful of individuals watching the doors, most of the clan lay on makeshift mats, curled under blankets and against each other. "They're like puppies!" She blurted, freezing mid-step.

Those watching the doors jerked their heads towards her, holding back laughter. "Yes, and most of them are injured," Masao reminded her.

"Right," Tsunade continued forward and knelt beside the woman closest to her. She woke slightly but when she caught sight of Masao, she settled back into sleep.

"Go rest," Masao ordered the individuals keeping watch. They nodded and found places in the scramble of sleeping bodies, overcome with exhaustion.

"You must be as exhausted as them!" Tsunade exclaimed softly as she finished healing the woman's broken wrist.

"My clan comes first, I'm sure you can understand," Masao responded. "They've been protecting me for long enough."

Following her through the tangled limbs of the sleeping clan, Masao watched Tsunade heal, occasionally intervening to correct one of her techniques; advice she patiently received. The longer Tsunade worked through the sleeping clan, the further away Masao drifted, no longer needed in the healing.

After an hour of healing, Tsunade left without a word, leaving Masao to sit in silent vigil in the center of his clan. Outside the main doors, Kotone held her own guard alongside Sakumo, softly debating the effectiveness of the lightweight, traditional kunai versus her own heavier, multi-pronged version that had become popular in the clan, the only topic they could agree upon without crossing any unspoken boundaries.


	8. Chapter 8

**The God War Part 7**

 _Six hours later_

 **(-)**

Minato jerked awake in his arms seconds before an ANBU appeared in the center of the room. A moment later, Kotone entered the room unalarmed.

"Who speaks for your clan?" The ANBU asked, monotone.

Fingers pointed towards Masao. "I guess that would be me," Masao noted.

"To-san?"

"Yes, Mina-chan?" Masao responded, recognizing the boy's serious tone.

"That's one of the evil shadows, not Hokage-san's shadows," the boy pressed himself closer to his father while the wary tension in the room increased.

"Sakumo-san?" Masao asked the Hatake, who stood stiffly in the doorway. "Is Minato correct?"

The tense silence dragged on. "I don't know," Sakumo answered finally.

"Understood." Masao stood swiftly and slung Minato over his back. "How can I help you, ANBU-san?"

"Your presence is requested."

"Very well, lead the way." Masao motioned towards the door, not making any motion to leave Minato behind.

The ANBU refused to move.

"Is there a problem?" Masao asked.

"You chose no guard."

"Do I need one?"

The ANBU did not answer.

"I see no reason to appoint one," Masao responded when the ANBU would not.

"The child?"

"Is my son; do you have a problem?"

The ANBU shrugged and led the way out of the room. Masao followed, easily keeping up with the pace.

 _To-san, why are you bringing me? I'm little._ Minato signed to his father.

Masao sighed and swung Minato onto his hip, not answering the question.

Minato hid his face in Masao's shoulder. After a second, Masao tapped the boy's head to get his attention.

 _You can sleep if you get bored,_ Masao promised.

Minato turned back against his father's shoulder. Masao smiled lightly and quickened his pace to draw even with the ANBU.

"Are you allowed to disclose where we are going?" Masao asked curiously.

"You are to meet Danzo-sama," The ANBU responded, leading the father and son into a large building.

They wound through the halls; a pattern to deliberately confuse anyone led through.

Masao's brow furrowed with distaste for the secrecy. The ANBU pushed open a seemingly random door and stood aside as Masao entered. A large desk faced the door and a black-robed man sat comfortably behind it.

"Namikaze-san, I assume," the man spoke with authority.

"And you are?" Masao prompted, acutely aware of the dozen individuals hidden along the walls, the click of the door's lock, and the distinct lack of escape routes. After a few seconds of silence, Masao found it difficult to remain calm. Intellectually, he knew the man intended to unsettle him on an instinctual level. After a slow breath, Masao calmed his racing heart and blocked out the massive amount of killer intent coming from the individuals hidden against the walls. Minato possessed none of Masao's ability to defend himself from the psychological attacks.

"I am Shimura Danzo," the man began, but Masao paid him no attention. Instead, he watched in surprise as Minato successfully blocked out the intimidation. Masao winced as he noted exactly how Minato responded, but did nothing to interfere as his son sent a burst of chakra into the temples of each of the ninja hidden along the walls. A stronger burst could have killed, but with his chakra split so many ways, Minato only mustered enough chakra to knock them out and leave them with an awful headache. The ninja fell out of their hiding places. Masao winced again as he noticed each of them appeared no larger than a teenager.

"Why am I here, Danzo-san?" Masao asked coldly.

"You and your clan seek shelter in Konoha, correct?"

Masao nodded sharply, holding Minato painfully tight against his chest.

"Let me make this perfectly clear. My dear Hokage expressed you are welcome in this village. I, on the other hand, want you far away from this village. I am not allowed to go against my former teammate's orders, but I can circumvent them. The Hokage can make you an official shinobi clan of Konoha; however, your admittance to the village as a citizen relies on the village council, of which I am the head. Before I allow your clan to be considered a true part of this village, I need to be absolutely sure this would be a beneficial decision."

"I do not take kindly to threats," Masao responded. "What do you want?"

"You will submit yourself to a complete mind scan by one of our clans to discover your true intentions."

"Why does such a request require this show?"

"There is more. You will not be granted any money or supplies for your transition."

"We never expected any."

"You will be required to fill positions in the shinobi force, under strict observation."

"I see no reason for your attempt to terrify me and mine if you are only going to reiterate information I am already aware of," Masao noted, patience thinning.

"You understand your transition here is going to be a problem on many levels. Our people do not take kindly to outsiders; especially outsiders who bring in trouble."

"I fully understand this fact. My clan will not allow our problems to fall on this village. Unless our efforts to join this village are sabotaged, in time, the people will come to see us for who we are."

"You overestimate the common man's ability to rationally interpret a situation."

"I overestimate no one."

"While you seem willing to endure the struggles of acclimation into a new village, are you willing to put the same struggles on the two surviving children of your group?"

Masao's eyes narrowed. "You have a lot of gall to say something like that to me."

Minato squirmed and Masao swung him to the ground. The boy hid his face in the back of Masao's knee and his little fingers clung tightly to his pant leg.

"Are you willing to place the same problems you will face on your son and another's child?"

"No, I am not willing, but there is little other choice."

"I have an option for you. I have created a new program which is already proven successful."

"And you want my clan's children to be a part of it."

"Not only will they be separated from discrimination you will face for a time, but they will be learning to be powerful shinobi far ahead of their peers."

Masao closed his eyes and leaned down to put a hand on the boy's head. "If I say no, you plan on doing everything in your power to hinder my clan from joining this village. If I agree, you plan to smooth our way into the village. This sounds like nothing more than blackmail."

"I care not what you think."

"In Konoha, you begin your children's shinobi training at six. My clan traditionally begin training nearly a decade later. While I am willing to enroll my son in your Academy at that age, I am not willing to turn him into a shinobi prematurely. The temporary feeling of alienation will pass, but I will not have my son learn to kill before he understands what death is, nor will I condone such a thing be done to any child, whether they be part of my clan or not."

"You have an interesting interpretation of the situation."

"Is that all?" Masao asked, fingers tangled in Minato's overlong hair.

"You are making a mistake."

"Mistakes must be made in order to learn and grow." Silence struck the end of his sentence. When the quiet turned awkward, Masao took Minato's hand and left the room with nothing more than a polite farewell.

With unsurprising ease, Masao guided Minato out of the building and back to the hospital. Halfway back, Minato let out an excited cry and raced towards a group of people in blue shirts and an uchiha on their backs. He singled one out and started to pull at his hand.

"Uchiha-san! I p'mised my name, but you meet To-san first." Minato managed to pull the Uchiha off-balance and drag him towards Masao. "To-san, this—" Minato began speaking too fast to be understood.

"Speak correctly, Mina-chan," Masao admonished.

"I'm Namikaze Minato! That's my To-san! He's a shinobi just like you!"

"You are not a Konoha shinobi." The Uchiha grabbed Minato's forearm and pulled him backwards. "This boy is under Hatake and Uchiha protection, who are you and why are you here?"

Minato froze at the abrupt change in tone.

Displaying his hands in clear view, Masao responded, "I am Namikaze Masao. My clan is currently applying for refuge in Konoha. My son was ward of Hatake Sakumo-san while I defended my clan from the events warranting our request for refuge here."

The Uchiha's Sharringan briefly swirled to life then faded. "I apologize for the hostility, Namikaze-san. I am Uchiha Isamu."

"Nice to meet you, Uchiha-san. The hostility is expected, though I hope such it will fade with time."

The Uchiha relaxed. "I'll escort you back to the hospital where you are supposed to be." He glanced down at Minato, only to find himself holding only the boy's jacket.

"He went that way," Masao pointed down the street.

"And you're not worried?"

"I attached a chakra string to him. If there's a problem, I will know immediately."

"I did not mean—"

"No harm done." Masao held out his hand as the Uchiha handed him Minato's jacket.

Masao led the Uchiha through the street and faster than most Jōnin could see, Masao caught the back of Minato's shirt, pulling him backwards. "I wanna talk to Jiraiya-san!" Minato protested.

Masao suddenly flattened himself over Minato as a kunai flew over their heads and stuck in the street behind him. The Uchiha looked in the direction the kunai originated and saw a blond man who appeared almost identical to Masao standing on the rooftop.

Masao jumped to his feet, shoving Minato behind him. Civilians scattered, more irritated than frightened.

"Hand over the boy." he demanded.

"Go to the hospital and make sure this gets to my wife. Her name is Kotone. Ask what color shirt Minato is wearing to verify identity." Masao pressed a scrap of blue paper into the Uchiha's hand.

"Afterwards—" At that second, Osamu attacked, separating the two as Masao prepared to hand the boy to the Uchiha. Masao swung Minato onto his back and let the boy cling to him while he faced off against Osamu.

"You desert your clan, your village, and have the gall to take children with you!"

"You were the one who betrayed everything this clan stands for and we have not stolen anyone's children! Unlike you."

"That means nothing."

"It means everything. With power comes arrogance. With arrogance comes greed."

"You preach the same spiel each time. I have yet to see your words come to fruition."

"You hear but do not understand."

"You are the one who fails to understand. The power you hold in your hands can level the largest of mountains. The power you have left over could crush the greatest of Kages. If you would allow it, you could cower an entire country with reputation alone. You could wield the power of a god over the shinobi world. You could shape this world exactly the way you've always dreamed."

"I've dreamed that shinobi would become people, that the weak would no longer be dominated, but live in peace and justice. Controlling a world is not the culmination of that dream, it's the opposite."

"Your ridiculous ideals are what keeps you from accomplishing everything. You could have led the clan, you could have led the village. You could have done your duty," Osamu shouted.

"What is this all about, Osamu? What do you want with my son?"

"That boy has the potential to do what you can't. You've lost. Now hand him over and he might be able to meet his father again someday."

"I'm a medic, not a warrior. Even after all you've done, I don't want to fight you."

"If you don't want to fight, then come back. This is your last chance."

"I will not follow you or return to a village that condones your schemes to upset every balance this world has been able to find."

"Not upset the balance, but to create it—"

"Assassinating Kages is not the way to create balance!"

"Sometimes sacrifices are necessary."

"Creating a massive power vacuum is not a sacrifice. It does nothing but create chaos."

Masao's legs sunk into the roof. As he fell, Masao's hands flashed through a long string of hand seals before leaping high into the air. Osamu took one look at Masao's leap before racing towards the edge of the village. Masao followed, appearing to run on thin air.

"You won't succeed, Osamu! No one has to die."

In response, Osamu spun around, held his hands out flat in front of him, forming a triangle with his thumbs and forefingers. Masao jerked to the side to avoid the iron bars, which nearly wrapped around his body. Responding with the same hand shape, Masao summoned a wall of vines from the ground, blocking Osamu's path and entangling his legs. A scythe appeared in Osamu's hand and he cut the branches off himself, leaping into the air to be level with Masao, who dropped into a low crouch, pressing his hand against the invisible platform they stood on.

Swearing under his breath, Osamu spun around and thrust both hands to collide with an invisible wall and create a concussion louder than thunder. He moved one hand to face Masao. A spear appeared hurtling towards Masao and he jerked to the side, not fast enough to avoid earning a deep gash in both his and Minato's right sides.

The boy gasped with pain and tightened his grip, but otherwise did not react. Masao pressed his hand to his side then Minato's to slow the bleeding. At the same time, Osamu rushed forward throwing three more spears. At the last second, Masao turned the spears away and retaliated with a handful of shuriken. Osamu deflected them easily but was forced to turn around to stop his own spears from punching through his back. Masao rushed in behind him and prepared to strike only to defend himself from a blindingly fast series of Taijutsu. When the two disengaged, Masao stood between Osamu and his original destination.

"The Kage here has done nothing against either of us. I will not allow you to murder him."

"Are you concerned for my conscience now?"

"No, this village and these people are under my protection. I will not allow you to harm any of them."

Snarling, Osamu attempted to dodge past Masao, only for his throat to meet the end of a staff held by a giant monkey. While the summon attacked, Masao retreated and dropped onto the roof beside the Sandaime.

"Unless you can copy Sakumo-san's fighting style, you don't stand a chance in this fight. Osamu is after you. Eighty-two Takigakure shinobi somehow infiltrated the village. By the time you deal with them, this fight will be over."

"I'll take Minato-kun," The Sandaime offered.

"You need to direct your people out of the way and will probably need to fight. You can't do that with a child you barely know. Disperse your summon before he dies and get everyone out of the way before there are casualties." Masao turned his back on the Hokage and leapt towards the fight, keeping the summon between him and Osamu.

The summon vanished in a puff of smoke and Masao zipped through it, swinging a three-foot-long blade at Osamu's head. Ducking quickly so the blade only brushed his hair, Osamu threw three kunai at Masao's chest. The kunai stopped and fell without any damage as Osamu grabbed the front of Masao's shirt and attempted to stab a fourth kunai into his still-bleeding side. Masao jerked forward so the weapon slipped between himself and Minato. As Masao felt Osamu's wrist strike his side, one of Minato's arms loosened. In a brief second of panic, Masao recoiled, fearing he misjudged and the kunai struck Minato. When Osamu yelped and jerked his hand away without the kunai, Masao relaxed, noticing how Minato shifted his weight to help him balance and move quicker, all while staying silent even though the boy should be crying with pain from the cut soaking his clothes with blood.

Slightly more confident, Masao set his feet to fight back instead of focusing all of his energy into defending Minato.

Making the triangle with his hands, Masao covered Osamu with an inch-thick layer of rock. As he broke free, Masao blasted him with a shredding wind, ducking when Osamu countered with a more powerful version of the jutsu.

Masao began to throw handfuls of kunai and other sharp weapons, which appeared in his hands with nothing more than a thought.

Osamu dodged and deflected, slowly stepping closer. Breaking rhythm, Masao threw a block of bricks towards Osamu. He crossed his arms over his face and set his feet, staggering backwards as Masao attacked with a flurry of Taijutsu mixed with wind blades.

As Osamu regained his balance, Osamu's advantage surfaced as he forced Masao back over lost ground.

Blood ran down Masao's face, impairing his vision and a deep cut on his shoulder made his left arm almost useless. Masao bent over backwards and Minato lost his grip on his father's back, falling through the invisible platform, barely conscious from pain and blood loss.

No longer encumbered by Minato's weight, Masao's speed increased exponentially. With an unexpected Shunshin, Masao appeared behind Osamu and stabbed him through a kidney. The moment dragged by as Osamu took a step forward; the kunai fell to the ground below. The two men stumbled away from each other. With a glance over his shoulder, Osamu fled, holding one hand over his wound. The platform vanished and both fell to the rooftops. Immediately, Masao rushed to where Minato fell, pushing through the group of civilians gathering around the unconscious boy.

"Don't touch him!" Masao cried, hastily healing the cut on his shoulder. The civilians scattered when Masao released a wave of killing intent to clear a path. Crashing to his knees, Masao cradled Minato's head, carefully straightening the boy's spine and healing the crack in his skull, the fractures in numerous vertebrae, and the rest of the possibly life-threatening breaks. The strike that disabled Masao's left arm went straight through Minato's shoulder. Masao stopped the bleeding, feeling sick at the blood soaking into the street.

Pressing his fingers to either side of Minato's temple, Masao forced the boy back into consciousness.

Minato moaned and tried to move but fell back, crying.

"Mina-chan, can you open your eyes and look at me? It To-san."

Minato's eyes blinked open briefly before he squeezed them closed and bit his lip to stop crying.

"I'm sorry you're hurting, but I have to make sure nothing is wrong before I can help you, understood?"

Minato coughed once and blood flew from his lips.

Pressing a hand coated in healing chakra against Minato's side, Masao began to heal the damage to Minato's lung while he used chakra to force his injured arm into use and grasp Minato's little hand. "It's okay to cry, Mina-chan, you don't have to be tough anymore. Squeeze my hand if you understand what I'm saying."

Minato did as asked after a long second, still trying to choke back sobs.

"Good job," Masao responded and squeezed back. "Now wiggle your toes a little bit." Masao breathed a loud sigh of relief when he saw Minato's bare toes curl. "Someone get me a first aid kit!" He demanded.

"Why aren't you still healing him with chakra?" Someone demanded. Masao turned to see who spoke.

"He's too young to safely handle any more adult chakra. For now, he's limited to civilian medicine. May I have a first aid kit, please?"

Another person shoved the requested item into Masao's hands and he turned back to Minato, wrapping the bandages around Minato's side and shoulder.

"Does it hurt anywhere else?" Masao asked.

Minato squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head slightly, biting his lip hard enough to make it bleed.

Masao lifted him gently off the ground, laying the boy's head on his shoulder and standing up stiffly.

"Can somebody take me to the hospital?"

"This way, Masao-san," Sakumo pushed his way through the crowd. Whispers of 'The White Fang' spread through the crowd. The Hatake pressed a scroll into a random person's hand. "Take this to the Hokage tower and tell them my mission is complete. I'll stop by later to figure the rest out." Guiding Masao out of the crowd, Sakumo could not contain his amazement at the fight. "Most of our Jōnin can't even follow a fight like that, and you're just an Iryo-nin!"

Ignoring Sakumo, Masao plodded forward, pressing his forehead against Minato's, he spoke softly to distract the child and himself.

"Masao! What happened?" Kotone's panicked voice cried as they stepped within sight of the hospital. White tents filled the streets outside where a steady stream of civilians and shinobi.

Minato clung tighter to Masao's shirt as Kotone shrieked in horror at the blood soaking her family.

"Never mind what happened, get in here quickly." Pushing Sakumo out of the way, she pushed Masao into a tent where three Konoha ninja teams sat lined on two of the three cots in the room. The uninjured tended to the wounded with the first aid supplies laid out on a small table in the center of the room. One woman pushed a more severely injured teammate down onto the cot and rushed to help the newcomers.

"Minato needs—a blood transfusion. The chakra supplement—isn't—going to last—" Masao protested as the two women guided him towards one of the cots.

"I'll get it!" One of the shinobi volunteered.

"Both of them need a transfusion and quick! They're both type B positive," Kotone ordered.

The shinobi raced out as Masao laid Minato on the cot. As soon as Masao's arms left him, Minato screamed. No one could do anything to quiet him as Masao pitched backwards, weak from blood loss. One of the less-injured teammates dragged the cot closer and helped lift Masao onto it. Kotone pressed a pad of bandages against Masao's side.

"Why aren't you healing?" She asked, beginning to panic as blood soaked through the bandages.

"Too—weak—" Masao forced out, trying to focus on the people moving around above him. "Take care—of Minato—"

"He'll survive. I can't stop your bleeding!" Kotone pressed harder against Masao's side as the shinobi rushed in with a clear bin of the needed equipment for the blood transfusion. The shinobi took Kotone's place pressing down on the multiple freely bleeding wounds. Kotone hung the bag from an IV stand in the corner of the tent and pushed the needle into a vein in Masao's right arm, strapping the arm to the edge of the cot with a strip of cloth dangling from the cot's metal frame but not tight enough that Masao could not escape it if he needed to. Turning around in a swirl of hair, Kotone did the same for Minato, but tying him down more securely, since she could not afford any more attention for him than was strictly necessary. While the spear managed to puncture Minato's lung, Masao's stronger bones prevented him from incurring the same extensive injury.

Cutting off the shoulder of Masao's shirt with a kunai, Kotone probed the wound on his shoulder. Masao hissed in pain when she began to reconnect the severed tendons manually.

"Relax!" She snapped as she began stitching him back together, knowing he no longer could understand her. "I'm a warrior, Masao, not a doctor, that's your job! Now, _relax_ before I make a mistake. I've only ever watched you do this!"

Kotone cut the rest of his shirt off as she cleaned and stitched together the cut on his side while the other woman bandaged his shoulder. Handing the bandaging off to one of the idle shinobi watching, Kotone moved to begin stitching another cut, which nearly severed the tendons in his leg.

"Why aren't you using Ninjutsu to heal him?" someone demanded.

"Because I don't have enough chakra for him and Minato. He can deal with a few scars," Kotone rushed to the next wound, smacking the kunoichi on the head when she noticed the woman ogling her husband. "Stare when the work is done!"

The kunoichi refocused on her task of bandaging while Kotone moved on to settle Minato's cries.

"You!" Kotone grabbed Sakumo's sleeve. "Go find one of the Academy students who can mold chakra and has an above-average amount. The younger the better, no matter what their skill level is."

In a swirl of leaves, Sakumo vanished.

"Mina-chan, its Ka-san. Can you open your eyes for me?" Kotone's tender, but firm voice cut through Minato's screams. He quieted as Kotone placed a hand on his forehead and stomach, drawing out Masao's lingering chakra. The boy quieted as Sakumo led a child into the tent. Kotone looked over and assessed the child standing stiffly. Meeting his white, pupil-less eyes, Kotone waved him forward and sat down on a small stool. Ignoring how the boy tensed at the contact, Kotone lifted him onto her lap and guided his hands to the bandage on Minato's shoulder. "I need your help to heal my son. It can be very dangerous for him if you don't do exactly what I say, understood?" Kotone said.

The Hyuuga child nodded, apprehensive.

"I'm Namikaze Kotone, what's your name?"

"Hyuuga Hiashi," the boy answered emotionlessly.

"I'm going to direct your chakra in healing him. It's going to feel very strange and a little scary, but won't take very long and you can't fight me for any reason, understood?"

Hiashi nodded.

Kotone carefully described everything Hiashi needed to do before beginning. Wincing, Hiashi endured the odd experience of someone else manipulating his chakra. After a few minutes, Kotone reassured him, "You're doing very well, Hiashi-san. One more minute and I'll be done. Sakumo-san, please go and find some kind of powerful sedative."

Less than a minute later, Kotone finished.

"All done, how are you feeling?"

"I am fine," Hiashi answered simply. "That should not be possible," he commented when Kotone unwrapped the bloody bandages to reveal Minato's mostly-healed shoulder while the blond whimpered and tossed his head back and forth, eyes closed.

"It's very dangerous. Only someone with absolute perfect chakra control should attempt to control another's chakra. It can be deadly if something went wrong."

"You risked my life to heal a non-life-threatening injury?"

"First, infection somehow already set into his shoulder, which could not be treated otherwise. Second, he was already dying from chakra poisoning, both of which are now fixed," Kotone continued to tend to Minato as she spoke, ignoring his whimpers. "Third, your life was never at risk, only mine and Minato's. I placed a lot of trust in you that you wouldn't lash out at me, intentionally or not." She finished re-bandaging Minato's shoulder and looked directly at Hiashi. "Finally, I will willingly risk my own life, I will only risk the life of a shinobi under my command, my son or spouse's life if there is no other choice, but I will never risk the life of a child." She turned away from him to take the sedative Sakumo handed her, ignoring the others in the room gaping at her, and read the label on the vial.

"You do not talk to me like I am a little kid," Hiashi commented crossing his arms.

"Do you want me to?" Kotone asked, measuring a millimeter of the vial into a needle.

"No, I want to know why."

Kotone pushed the needle into Minato's thigh and injected the fluid, waiting for the boy to fall into unconsciousness before answering. "I see no reason to gentle my tone or simplify my words as long as you understand me."

"Can you teach at the Academy instead of my teacher?"

The entire room turned toward him in surprise at the request. Kotone looked over her measurements to give a dose to Masao. "If the Hokage decides that will be my job, then I will, but otherwise that decision is out of my hands." Kotone pushed a much larger dose of the sedative into Masao's arm, which settled his pain, though it did not force him into unconsciousness.

"You will be my class's teacher," Hiashi stamped his foot.

"I cannot commit to such an action in the current state of affairs." Kotone responded coolly, unimpressed by the boy's impetuousness.

Turning on his heel, Hiashi marched out of the tent.

"You just made a spectacular ally or dangerous enemy," Sakumo responded, sounding impressed.

"What do you mean?" Kotone asked, returning to Minato, who already passed gently into unconsciousness and beginning to stitch closed the cut on his side oozing blood.

"That boy's father is the head of the Hyuuga clan."

"Konoha has over a dozen clans, Sakumo-san. I don't know anything about their politics but I don't fear any military."

"The Hyuuga clan is one of the most influential clans of the village because it possesses the Byakugan Dōjutsu."

"I can't do anything about it now," Kotone sat down on the stool, rubbing her temples.

"You're a medic also," Sakumo stated.

"No, I'm not. Everything I just did was a blind throw, not something I will try again. I break people, not put them back together."

The teams originally in the tent filed out, patched up and ready to resume their respective tasks.

"Is it some sort of family trait for you three not to give yourselves any credit?" Sakumo asked when the last of them left.

"If you'd seen what we've seen, you'd feel the same."

"Enlighten me," Sakumo suggested.

Kotone looked up at him, determining if he wanted the answer. Noting the too-stiff set of his shoulders and his hand still holding a kunai, she decided to comply. "Have you ever dreamed for peace, for the end of the constant wars, and a time where you don't have to look over your shoulder in your own home?"

"Of course," Sakumo replied immediately.

"And what have you actually done towards that dream?"

Sakumo contemplated the question, "Now that I think about it, not much more than talk."

"We met someone who pointed out that fact to us in a way we could never forget. Minato shouldn't have been able to remember it, he was too young, but he remembers enough."

"You've given me a lot to think about. Do you understand that I report everything to the Hokage?"

"I expected nothing less." She turned away from him in clear dismissal.

"How do you do it?" He asked suddenly before his feet could carry him over the tent's threshold.

"Do what?" Kotone responded without turning around.

"Trust us. How could Masao trust me to take care of his defenseless son so soon after meeting me in battle which he was captured and consequently tortured for information? How can you turn your back on anyone from Konoha when your husband and son are unconscious? How could your people rest, much less sleep, when foreign shinobi were alone with their incapacitated leader?"

"Are you saying you should not be trusted?"

"What have we done to earn that trust?"

"Have you ever heard the concept of trust being earned and not given, reciprocal but not always equal?"

"It's a foolish policy."

"But is it? Take Minato as an example. In the materialistic sense, he is entirely dependent on me, Masao, and even you in order to survive. He has to trust us to give him what he needs, to not turn a hand against him. For all he knows, we could turn him out on the streets tonight and he'll die with no one to keep out the cold, give him food, or defend him. He's spent the night outside alone and lost before and he knows exactly what it's like to have nothing, to be able to do nothing. What's stopping him from living in terror that we would turn him out deliberately? What's stopping us from turning him out in fear he would cause more trouble than he's worth?"

"You're his parents. Of course you wouldn't do anything like that."

"But how can he know that? He's done nothing to earn a place with us."

Sakumo's brow furrowed trying to find an answer.

"He just trusts us. We owe him nothing, yet he still has that blind trust in us."

"Then what does this have to do with my original question?"

"You and the village don't owe us anything. That leaves us a choice: trust you to help us or live here in terror of you. We chose to trust. It may be more complicated in practice, but the ultimate choice is trust or fear. I could ask you, why aren't we locked in your prison? Why do you leave us unguarded? The answer is that you chose to trust us rather than fear us. Think about it." Not once had Kotone turned to glance his way.

Sakumo left in a daze, his feet automatically carrying him towards the Hokage tower. The ANBU disguised as an unremarkable Chuunin jerked him out of his trance. "—take-san? Hatake-san, are you well?"

Shaking his head to clear it, Sakumo jerked the blank report out of the small office-style mailbox with his Shinobi registration number on it, "I'm fine; I was just caught up in my thoughts. You were saying?"

"Hokage-sama is currently in a meeting with the Head Jōnin and his former teammates. He asked that you be sent up immediately to answer a few questions before writing your report."

"Thank you shinobi-san. I can find my way there."

"Hatake-san?"

"Yes?"

"You have another mission to be picked up as soon as you are done. Hokage-sama is in the council room."

"Thank you," Sakumo shoved the report back into his box and hurried up the stairs.

When he raised his hand to knock on the door, it jerked open to reveal the newly appointed Head Jōnin.

"Hyuuga-san," Sakumo greeted politely.

"There are quite a few questions we need answered, Hatake," the Hyuuga dismissed the formalities and placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him into the room to stand at one end of the table before falling into the chair directly to his right, clearly exhausted. The oval table had four others sitting around it, the Hokage on the opposite end of the table, Homura and Koharu to his right and Danzo directly on his left. Sakumo felt his spine unconsciously stiffen as the black-robed man with his arm covered in bandages and both eyes holding more malice than Sakumo expected.

"You are not in any sort of trouble, Hatake-san," the Hokage assured him. "But your answers in this interrogation have significant weight in the decisions that are about to be made. Please answer as honestly as you are able."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"First, what is the condition of Namikaze Masao?"

"Stable. I suspect Chakra exhaustion. He had possible life-threatening injuries which have been treated and as far as I know, he will recover."

"What about Namikaze Kotone?"

"Tired, but otherwise unharmed."

"And their son?"

"Stable, but with multiple life-threatening injuries I believe have been mostly healed. One injury was confirmed as infected, though it is no longer and it was mentioned that he nearly died from Chakra poisoning."

"What is Chakra poisoning?"

"I am unaware of the specifics, but too much adult chakra was used to heal him. In order to combat the problem, Kotone-san requested a child to assist in healing him. The Hyuuga scion was found and she somehow controlled his chakra to perform a healing."

"I was told only the only Namikaze medic was Masao-san. Explain."

"Kotone-san was adamant in the fact she was not a medic; however, she has an extensive understanding of Iryo-Ninjutsu and appears to be more competent in the field than many of our own medics."

"Is she capable of the Chakra control necessary for Iryo-Ninjutsu?"

"From what I have gathered, it is reasonable to conclude the entire clan has above-average chakra control, including Minato-kun."

"On what level would you place the boy's chakra control?"

"I cannot be certain, but he successfully circulated the chakra in the room, including my own, without harm and when he lost control, thus destabilizing my entire Chakra network, he successfully stabilized it before it could cause any damage. His Chakra control has to be on par with low-level medic-nins at the very least."

"What level would you place his parents at?"

"Unknown. Both have demonstrated the capability to control the Chakra of others at close range with the finesse required to perform medical Ninjutsu."

"Is the Namikaze a specialized clan? Do they have any Kekkei Genkai?"

"No to both."

"Explain."

"None of their techniques appear to be impossible to replicate, but there is a key piece hidden that makes replication impossible. In my opinion, it is secret techniques in learning, training, and application, no a genetic advantage. It can also be logically attributed to their unique usage of Chakra."

"How do they use their Chakra differently?"

"I do not understand it well enough to explain, though I received the impression that their chakra is not a weapon, but fundamentally different. Their explanation seemed to allude to an old myth I vaguely remember from the traders, but I'll have to research further before I can confirm anything."

"What is the status of the rest of the clan?"

"I only saw from a distance, but I suspect a majority are at the very least tired, possibly some mild injuries."

"The status of our own?" The Hokage abruptly asked the Hyuuga.

"Minimal injuries, no casualties and a few mildly damaged roofs which can be repaired by the end of the day. Eighty-two Takigakure shinobi have been confirmed dead, but less than a dozen can be attributed to the village's standing defense force. The rest were slaughtered by the Namikaze. Whether they be part of the village or not, I request that the entire clan undergo psychological evaluations after fighting and killing former comrades in such a—graphic manner. I also submit the request that they be accepted as a Konoha Shinobi clan. Their ability to react to the situation and isolate fighting to minimalize the overall damage can make them a powerful village defense."

"Your clan leader's son wouldn't happen to have any influence in your request, would it?" Koharu asked politely.

"What would Hiashi-sama have to do with the Namikaze?" the Hyuuga asked, genuinely confused.

"He was reported to be especially enamored with one Namikaze Kotone," the Hokage explained.

The Hyuuga still appeared confused, but did not press the issue.

"Hatake-san, in your opinion, do the Namikaze pose a threat to this village?" Danzo asked.

"Unless we harm them first, I am certain they will not intentionally harm the village."

"Are there any specific weaknesses we should be made aware of?"

"They have nothing to lose; that is both their greatest weakness and greatest strength."

"Thank you, Hatake-san, be sure to include a record of all events in your report. You are dismissed," the Hokage gestured towards the door. Sakumo left quickly, and barely paused to pick up his mission and paperwork before rushing home.


	9. Chapter 9

**The God War Part 8**

 _Three weeks later. Remember, this is about thirty years before canon. In canon, they are three decades older and wiser and with three decades more experience overall. The Sandaime specifically is fairly new to his position._

 **(-)**

"It's a pleasant surprise to see you here, Hokage-san, would you like to join us for breakfast?" Masao greeted politely when he recognized their visitor.

"I came here too—"

"Come inside, there's a bit of extra food," Masao laid a hand on Minato's head as the boy latched on to his leg. "Mina-chan, go sit with your mother, please."

"No! He's an evil shadow!" The boy pointed to a spot on the wall.

Under the scrutiny of several high-level ninja, the ANBU's disguise faltered before he renewed it, fading completely out of sight and changing positions.

Minato's eyes followed him angrily.

"It's not very nice to call someone evil, Mina-chan."

"But they are!"

"Excuse us for a moment, Hokage-san," Masao jerked Minato into his arms and carried him out of the room while Kotone smoothly diverted the attention.

Minato gasped as Masao placed the boy on his feet just outside the room the small family shared.

"What is going on, Minato? You always listen, why aren't you now?"

"That man at the scary place with the mask people."

"His name was Danzo, what does he have to do with anything?"

"The evil shadows listen to him. Not Hokage-san."

"I already know that, Mina-chan. I'm asking why you aren't listening."

Minato fidgeted, refusing to answer.

Confused, Masao knelt down to the boy's level to see his face better.

"He said he'd do mean things when you gone."

"Pardon me for a moment—" Kotone said, entering the hall as Masao picked up his trembling son and the boy clung to his neck, wrapping his legs around Masao's waist.

"Namikaze-san—" The Hokage interrupted.

"You have a very young child, correct, Hokage-san?" Kotone said sharply.

"How—"

"And that child will come before anything else, correct?" Her voice turned icy, "Please extend me the same courtesy you expect for yourself. Now, as I'm sure you've noticed, the only people here who are armed in any way is yourself and your guards. I'm still unsure of many of the customs here, but it is polite to lay down visible arms when entering someone else's home. Finally, if a four-year-old can pick up on the fact you have men guarding you whose allegiance is to someone else, I think it's time for a reevaluation of your security."

"I came here to request that you and your immediate family appear in my office at nineteen-hundred hours tonight," the Hokage replied neutrally.

"Thank you for the message, Hokage-san. Is that all?"

"Yes."

"We will be there."

The Hokage turned and left as Kotone entered the room. _I thought we proved our loyalty to that man. What more could he want?_ She signed, shrouding her hands in a sphere of chakra so Minato could not sense her motions.

"Loyalty may be proven, but trust must be earned. Minato's asleep," Masao responded evenly.

"It was a rhetorical question," Kotone scowled and fell down on the thin mattress in the corner of the room. "What's wrong with Minato? Why did he act out like that?"

"He's scared of something he doesn't know how to say. For the life of me I have no idea what."

Masao's words hung in the air.


	10. Chapter 10

**The God War Part 9**

 _That evening_

 **(-)**

"The papers for your acceptance into the village as a shinobi clan are nearly finished," the Sandaime reported, signing off on a stack of papers as the trio, slightly annoyed by the lack of greeting, stood in front of his desk. "I must make clear that every member of your clan is required to participate in the shinobi forces, including the children."

Kotone's arms tensed around Minato, who entertained himself by playing with a chunk of Kotone's hair, oblivious to the proceedings. "What roll could a child play in the shinobi forces?" Masao demanded icily.

"There are many rolls perfectly suited for children. D-ranked missions are especially common, but any child displaying a natural talent in one of the shinobi military branches, such as interrogation, infiltration, and—" the Sandaime paused, looking up from his papers to see their reactions. "Sensing."

Visibly, the parents made no reaction. "So what do you want?" Kotone asked evenly.

"You may or may not notice this, but the village is much weaker than normal. We have recently finished a war and see another in the future. Our ranks must be filled as soon as possible. Our own young are being recruited also."

"In comparison to your young, Minato may be considered highly intelligent, but he has barely turned five, and has no training or experience," Kotone gritted out the argument.

He Sandaime stiffened at how quickly she picked up his intentions. "My former teammate has set up a program specifically designed to quickly train young children in the shinobi arts and make them assets rather than liabilities."

"ROOT," Masao answered.

The Sandaime's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that name?"

"I am a very good shinobi, Hokage-san, and just because I specialize in medicine doesn't mean I lack ability everywhere else. I am a Jōnin after all. Maybe you weren't listening when I first told you, but my clan split because my brother was attempting to use _infants_ as warriors. I consented to allow my son to join your Academy and eventually your forces, not drafted into the exact same program I left behind." Masao leaned forward and placed his hands on the man's desk. "I have been nothing but straight and honest with you. You would do anything for your family just as I will do anything for mine. My _adult_ clan mates will follow your orders, fill the places which need to be filled. _You will not touch our children_. _Understood_?"

"Are you threatening me?" The Sandaime stood up slowly.

"Do I need to?" Masao retorted.

"I understand—" the Sandaime began in a placating tone.

"No, you don't understand," Masao interrupted. "You have a village loyal to you, a united family, and all the esteem a leader is due. How much betrayal have you actually faced?"

"Masao." Kotone interrupted firmly. She grabbed his wrist as he clamped his mouth closed after a moment of deliberation and placed one arm around her shoulders. She turned her gaze towards the Sandaime. "May we please settle this without provoking property damage?"

Reseating himself, the Sandaime continued. "Your opinion on this matter has been noted." A long silence followed as he closed a folder and placed it to the side, opening a second to begin writing.

"Five minutes forty-one seconds."

"I beg your pardon?"

"That is how long it took me to break your cipher," Kotone explained.

Raising an eyebrow, the Hokage closed the folder.

"If you don't believe me, I quote, 'Your request of mentorship to Namikaze Minato is denied. Due to the lack of history Konoha has in relation to the Namikaze clan, I find it unwise to force them into a position they find disagreeable.' Should I continue?"

Holding up a finger, the Sandaime began. "I am not so idealistic to think the other half of your clan is not planning a second attack. How are you planning to defend against it? None of you have utilized the training grounds open to you, nor has your security detail noticed any significant amounts of chakra emitting from your current residence to indicate indoor training."

"Genjutsu," Masao responded simply.

"The Sharringan can see through any illusion," the Hokage retorted.

Masao glanced over at Minato, who curled against his mother's chest, clinging to her shirt, with his eyes screwed shut. "Mina-chan, can you point to the person with more chakra in their eyes than normal?"

Minato held up two fingers.

"The one with the chakra shaped like a normal eye, not filling their eyes completely," Masao clarified.

Minato pointed to the corner behind the Sandaime without looking.

Masao held up what appeared to be two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two," the Sandaime answered, irritated.

"Ask your Uchiha to confirm it."

After a brief second, the Sandaime repeated his answer.

"Kai," Masao responded and the Genjutsu fell to reveal four digits. "The key to fooling the Sharringan is power."

"What do you mean?" A voice asked from the edge of the room. The Sandaime sent an annoyed glance towards the speaker but gestured for Masao to answer the question.

"If the Genjutsu uses more chakra than the Sharringan, it is rendered no more powerful than a normal eye. From the Uchiha I've treated at the hospital, I've noticed that the eye is connected directly to the chakra system and has access to all of the body's chakra, which for an adult Uchiha is unusually high, making nearly every Genjutsu, which typically uses little chakra, easily dismissed."

"You don't have particularly high chakra reserves; how did you make a Genjutsu so powerful without completely exhausting yourself?"

"While I have no problem answering any questions you may have on my abilities; I will not do so in front of others."

Kotone's arms tightened around Minato

"I am within my rights to order disclosure."

"With all due respect, Hokage-san, I'm not young enough to be able to forget the years when my clan were scattered nomads who carried messages between the various groups of monks across the elemental nations. Villages never properly formed until after the First Shinobi War in which I met your Shodaime Hokage." Masao relaxed into his chair. "I'm not the nine-year-old boy who spent time as a hostage to foster a non-aggression treaty. My loyalty and respect for you goes only as far as it is reciprocated. I have the ability to cut off the negotiations should I chose to notice the evidence of lack of faith on your part."

His eyes flickered between Masao and the door, weighing the words and masking his thoughts with a perfectly neutral expression. "Then I will respect your wishes," the Hokage gritted out, capitulating more then he wanted. "In order to best place you in my forces, I need to know everything I possibly can about you and every individual in your clan." With a small movement of his hand, the ANBU left and a blond man entered. "This is Yamanaka Kurou. He will be using his clan's unique jutsu to search your mind. This procedure is standard for even our own shinobi, but it will be much more extensive for you."

"I do not advise this," Masao responded evenly, placing himself between his family and the others.

"All shinobi are required to submit to a Yamanaka mind scan."

"Including Minato?"

"No, he is neither old enough, nor a shinobi," Kurou answered.

Kotone looked up to Masao for an answer.

"I know my mind better than anyone could. Your goal is to ascertain my loyalty, the credibility of information I have already provided, my personality, abilities, and a very limited collection of information I have not yet had the chance to provide. Beyond that, I expect you to respect my privacy and the privacy of everyone else, understood?"

Kurou glared at Masao. "I understand your expectations. Have a seat."

Masao sat down in the chair directly in front of the Hokage's desk and closed his eyes while Kurou did the same and placed a hand on his forehead. Beads of sweat dampened the collars of both men. After nearly an hour elapsed, Kurou opened his eyes and pulled away as Masao slumped forward, breathing heavily.

As the Yamanaka turned towards her, she gently laid a sleeping Minato in Masao's lap and sat down in a second chair. She felt increasingly violated as the Yamanaka sifted through nearly every thought she ever formed. The second he finished, she shot to her feet and left the room in a rush.

"We will be leaving now," Masao gritted out in a tone leaving no room for argument.

In a quick Shunshin, Masao found herself back in their room, Kotone crouched in the corner of the room.

"I-I'm going to go take a bath right now," she stammered out and turned to leave the room in a hurry. Masao caught her hand.

"I'm sorry, I wouldn't have let you come if I'd known—"

"It's not your fault," she told him firmly. "You can't work miracles." Absently, she noticed Minato rush out of the room as someone walked by the door. The second the door clicked shut behind the boy she burst into tears, burying her face in Masao's shoulder. "He knows everything. He went through every single memory since I was a child! I couldn't stop him; I couldn't even fight him!"

Masao wrapped an arm around her and rubbed the tense knot between her shoulders, laying his head on hers.

She calmed down quickly, but refused to pull away from Masao. "Before _he_ died, you said I could talk to you, ask you whatever I wanted and you would respond honestly. Is that still true?"

"Of course," Masao murmured, brushing her hair away from her tear-streaked face.

"Before Minato was born, you knew your father was going insane, didn't you?"

"Yes," Masao responded. When he gave no inclination of pushing her away, Kotone continued.

"You knew what would happen when his insanity fixated on someone, right?"

"No, but I knew it wouldn't be good for them."

"Of everyone in the clan, why did he focus on me?"

"I don't know."

"Why did you protect me?"

Masao hesitated. "I wasn't going to. I told myself you were a kunoichi, perfectly capable of taking care of herself. I'd seen you in action; you were my partner on missions."

"But why did you?"

"He was going to kill you. I don't know why, but it didn't matter how good you were, you didn't have a chance at defending yourself, not against him, not against a madman."

"You didn't object when he demanded you marry me. Why?"

Masao held her tighter. "I'd seen that look in his eye only once before. I was nine, and those eyes were directed at the nin holding me hostage, even though. When those eyes looked at me, I knew I couldn't save you or myself if he attacked."

"He still tried to kill me," Kotone mumbled, her hand shifting to the center of her torso where her shirt hid a thick scar.

"It wasn't a lethal strike; it was just a message, telling me if I didn't follow through, he would kill us both anyways."

"Why did you offer to help me escape to a different village?"

"I couldn't force you into a marriage and you were too young to safely carry the child he would demand."

"And I wouldn't leave so you had to find a different way."

Masao nodded.

"You tried to keep him away."

"Yes."

"But he still found me when you were gone on missions."

"I'm sorry."

"Why do you care? I've never done anything for you!"

"I just do."

Kotone looked up at him, unsure.

He gently wiped away the tears smeared across her cheeks. "Go clean up. I'll make sure Minato gets a bath so you can go to bed early." He kissed her forehead before leaving to track down his son. Instead of leaving to clean up, Kotone hid herself and followed Masao as he snatched up his son. "Bath time!" he announced, tossing the giggling boy in the air and tucking him under one arm.

Kotone stood in the doorway, hidden perfectly from both of them as Masao dropped Minato in the bathtub, fully clothed, immediately filling the tub with an extremely weakened water jutsu.

"To-san! It not work this way!" Minato giggled as Masao picked up a bar of soap.

"What am I doing wrong?"

"My clothes is wet!"

"Speak properly," Masao reminded him as the boy squirmed out of his clothing.

The second Minato draped his clothes over the edge of the tub Masao attacked his dampened hair with the bar of soap, grimacing as Minato mimicked him and scrubbed soapsuds into the adult's hair.

"This is your bath time, not mine!" Masao protested as Minato giggled harder. "Rinse out your hair."

Immediately, Minato crossed his arms stubbornly, placing his feet firmly on top of the water with chakra.

Masao sighed. "Why not?"

"My hair will get wet!"

"It will get clean."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Face wet!"

"Sentences, Mina-chan."

"My face then get wet!"

"You wouldn't be a very good shinobi if you were afraid of getting your face wet!"

Minato contemplated Masao's words before releasing the chakra holding him above the water. With all the patience in the world, Masao titled the uncomfortable boy's head into the water, quickly scrubbed out the soap, and sat him back up. In short order, with significantly less rowdiness, the bath was over, Minato wrapped in a mostly-clean towel, and escorted back to their bedroom, dressed in his only other set of intact clothing, and laid in the center of the bed.

"Bedtime?" The boy asked, curling underneath the only threadbare blanket.

Masao nodded. "Go to sleep."

Minato closed his eyes theatrically.

"Good night," Masao said, casting a Genjutsu around the room to remove all noise and dampen the light as he left.

Kotone followed him back to the bathroom as he rinsed the soap off the walls, drained the tub before refilling it and scrubbing himself clean. He wrapped a towel around himself and drained the tub before refilling it with another water jutsu.

"You'll feel a bit better once you're clean," Masao said as he walked past to dress in their room. Kotone could not help but smile after him.

"Stop grinning like an idiot, little girl," one of the older women, Youko grumped at her. Kotone ignored her. "Masao asked me to make sure you were fine, are you?" The woman poked her sharply in the forehead when she did not respond immediately.

"I'll be fine," Kotone rubbed her forehead.

"Good, we don't need another insanity case on our hands, especially not now? Are you sure you're alright?" The Youko's tone softened as Kotone focused her bloodshot eyes. "You've been crying!"

"I'm fine now," Kotone assured her, forcing a small smile.

"If you're fine, I'm dead, come on, a nice bath will make you feel much better."

Gradually, Kotone felt better as Youko hovered over her.

An hour later, she could smile and laugh with the woman as she stood in front of the mirror, Youko's gentle fingers tied her hair back into an intricate braid. Youko tied off the braid and laid her hands on Kotone's shoulders, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

"It's not hard to figure out what happened when you visited the Hokage. Remember, Masao went through the exact same thing as you, probably worse. He needs to be taken care of too. Now go," Youko urged her.

Kotone did not hesitate before she left, slipping into their room as quietly as possible.

"Kotone?" Masao asked softly from beside Minato.

"It's me," she confirmed and followed the sound of his soft breathing, sitting beside his head, running her fingers through his damp hair. Minato clung to Masao's shirt, sleeping peacefully.

"Feeling better?" Masao asked, unmoving.

"Yes."

His breathing deepened and slowed, the genjutsu keeping the room dark and quiet faded. The lights from the hall gave the room just enough light to see by. Kotone gained a new appreciation for Masao's strength that often went unseen by most. Without disturbing the two, she lay down beside them, smiling at the peaceful moment, and pulled the ragged blanket over the three of them, drifting off to sleep. They would settle in just fine.


	11. Chapter 11

**The God War Part 10**

 _Eight days later_

 **(-)**

"To-san!" Minato screamed, darting through the crowds of people, immediately forgetting whatever mission he had put himself on. The high-pitched fear in the child's voice rang through the streets, setting everyone on edge, seconds before the alarm began to toll. Masao landed on a nearby roof, fully dressed in the Konoha Jōnin uniform.

"Everyone, head towards the emergency shelters immediately. Ninja, both active and retired are to follow protocol N-1-1-7-2-5." His voice rang through the entire area and everyone immediately began to follow the orders. Masao jumped down in front of Minato. "You need to go with the civilians, son, understood?"

The boy's bottom lip trembled and one of the kinder civilians took his hand. Masao smiled at her before leaping back to the rooftops. The civilian woman tugged Minato towards one of the shelters, but in the blink of an eye, Minato continued his race towards the front gates, against the flow of civilians. A handful of individuals tried to catch him, but he evaded their hands and continued uninterrupted. A block away from the front gates, Minato leapt to the rooftops and crept as close as he dared to watch the confrontation at the gates.

Osamu, flanked by his loyal clan members stood a step outside the gates, facing down the Sandaime Hokage, Masao standing off his left shoulder and Sakumo on his right. Masao's loyal clan mates stood in ranks behind him. Minato crouched behind a chimney, watching.

"You are not allowed entrance into this village," the Sandaime responded, his voice ringing out with authority.

"Then I'll take it!" Osamu snarled, blurring as he attacked the Hokage. Masao intercepted him mid-strike, underestimating the power of the attack and sliding back against the Kage, who darted around him, aiming a disabling strike at Osamu's leg. Osamu avoided the strike, simultaneously defending against Masao's retaliation.

All hell broke loose as both sides leapt forward. The Kage pulled out of the conflict and watched the fighting carefully from the rooftop across from Minato. The tolling alarm faded as the emergency shelters closed.

Unbeknownst to anyone but Minato, a small shinobi crept up the alley wall of the building the Sandaime stood on. Minato slipped out of his hiding spot and used all of his speed and stealth to make his way to the adjacent wall and scurry up, matching the shinobi's movement. The shinobi silently leapt up on the roof and crawled forward, a tantō in hand, ready to attack the instant the Sandaime noticed him. The second he reached striking distance, Minato darted out from underneath the eaves of the building like a startled cockroach and grabbed the kunai pouch of the shinobi, only a few years older than him, ripped out a kunai and redirected the blade to send the shinobi stumbling in front of the Kage.

Instead of attacking immediately, the Hokage hesitated at the sight of the girl, no older than ten. She leapt forward to attack faster than anyone expected and before the thought of defending himself crossed the Kage's mind, Minato knocked the tantō to the side, clumsily latched on to the girl's shoulder and drove the kunai into the base of her skull, killing her instantly. The four-year-old stumbled away from the body, a few drops of blood splattered across his face and the kunai by his side smeared with it.

The Sandaime's eyes widened in surprise, but before he could do anything but stare at the boy in surprise, Minato vanished and he had to refocus his attention on containing the fighting from a distance with a matrix of seals. During his brief lapse in attention, a shinobi forced Kotone away from the others. Minato hid in the shadows of a nearby home and watched as he continued to force her backwards. He flared his chakra, causing Kotone to jerk backwards reflexively, but instead of facing a jutsu, she found a katana emerging from her heart. Minato screamed and leapt forward as the shinobi pulled it out. Before he could free his weapon, Minato sliced through the tendons of his arm and using his momentum to fly past the cursing Namikaze, twisted in midair to sever the man's spine in his lower back. Minato lost his balance and flew into the wall a few feet away. The shinobi fell on his face, only one limb responding to his commands. He switched his katana to his usable hand and threw it towards Minato, but the boy jerked out of the way and landed on the man's back, stabbing him repeatedly and unable to take his eyes off of his mother, whose dead eyes stared at the sky.

What felt like years later to the boy, someone caught his wrist before he could stab the long-dead man again and wrenched the kunai out of his solid grip. Faintly, he heard someone shouting his name, but he could not tear his eyes away from his mother with a rose of blood blossoming over her heart and a blanket of red spread beneath her, staining her bright yellow hair.

"No! No!" Minato wailed as someone picked him up and tried to tear his gaze away. His arms flailed and he nearly forced the individual to drop him. A pair of hands twisted the boy's arms behind his back and dragged him off the shinobi's mutilated chest, forcibly tearing him away from the morbid scene and around the corner. Minato fought every step of the way but sheer size overwhelmed his struggles.

Finally, Masao forced Minato to look at him. Almost immediately, the boy stopped struggling.

"To-san—" Minato choked out, "To-san, Ka-san gone forever!" The boy sobbed, retreating from Masao's touch, wrapping his arms around himself and cowering against the grimy alley wall.

Masao knelt in front of the boy and forcibly stilled he tremors in his hands before producing a damp cloth to clean the blood off Minato's face.

"No!" The boy cried and jerked away from Masao's touch. After a second, the father tried again and the boy did not react. He methodically cleansed the blood from Minato's face and stripped off the blood-soaked jacket to scrub the physical blood off his son's hands. "I made Tomiko-chan and Isamu-san gone forever, just like Ka-san!" Minato continued to speak unintelligibly.

Folding the boy against his chest, Masao allowed his own grief to show.

"It hurts, To-san," Minato's muffled voice cut through the eerie quiet.

"I know, Minato. It doesn't go away."


	12. Chapter 12

**Burned**

 _Minato is 6_

 **(-)**

"To-san, I don't want to go!" Minato protested as Masao pulled him towards the Academy. A group of clan children clustered together on the training ground to the side of the building.

"I'm sure you'll learn something."

"The teachers talk to me like I'm stupid and I don't like it."

"I'll show you a trick before I leave and you can practice it if you get bored, alright?" Masao bargained.

Minato scrunched up his nose but agreed.

"Go talk to your classmates while I talk to your teacher," Masao gestured towards the children.

Minato obeyed and walked towards the other kids after a reproachful look at his father. A boy with triangles on his cheeks and a puppy in his arms caught sight of Minato approaching with his hands clasped behind his back. The children all turned to look at the new arrival.

"Know any cool jutsus?" The boy asked.

"I wouldn't be a very good ninja if I just told you all the things I know."

"You are pretty confident for a little brat," a tall girl with black hair pushed past the Inuzuka and stared down her nose at Minato. The other children snickered.

"It's arrogant to threaten someone you don't know." A chorus of 'ooh's echoed him.

"I am Uchiha Chika and I have been in the Academy for two years. I have nothing to fear from a short and skinny thing like you," Chika retorted angrily. A few of the children stumbled backwards.

"Let me give you some advice, if you manage to become a shinobi, don't judge someone based on appearances, it'll get you killed pretty quickly," Minato answered calmly looking at the other children curiously as they backed away from the enraged Uchiha.

"You will pay for that, you little bastard!" She snarled and stepped forward to punch Minato. He deftly evaded her strike and settled into a bastardized version of his father's defensive stance. The rest of the children scattered, cheering for a fight. The girl lunged forward and aimed a punch at Minato's face. Flinching out of the way, Minato allowed her momentum to carry her past and dropped to the ground in an attempt to trip her. She jumped over his leg, but the power of her punch threw her face down into the ground anyways. Minato stood up quickly and backed away from her.

"Please stop attacking me, Chika-san; I don't want to fight you."

"That's enough, you two," one of the Chuunin teachers stepped between her and Minato.

"He insulted me!"

"I did not!" Minato retorted indignantly. "I told her it was arrogant to threaten me and then gave her some advice. She's the one who called me names!"

"He attacked me!"

"I never touched you!"

"That's enough, everyone go to class, now!" The Chuunin glared at them all angrily.

"She attacked me for no reason and you're not going to do anything." Minato snapped at the Chuunin, who just shrugged.

"I think you taught her a pretty good lesson. If you needed help, I would have done more, but you didn't so it wasn't worth the effort. You have ten minutes to get to class, don't be late." The Chuunin left Minato staring after him, annoyed.

"Minato! Come in here, please!" Masao called from the door of the Academy.

The boy trudged towards his father, who put a hand on his head and guided him towards one of the classrooms.

"I promised a trick you could practice," Masao held out a coin about the size of his thumb and placed it in Minato's palm as they stopped outside the door. He held his own hand a few inches above the coin and with a wash of chakra, made it start to spin on its edge, hovering just above Minato's palm. "Cover it with your chakra and see what you can make the coin do. Now, behave yourself in class and I'll meet you at home this evening."

Minato nodded once with a wide smile at his father. After a brief hug, Minato trudged into the classroom, silently taking his seat in the middle of the room. He placed the coin on his desk and concentrated on covering it with chakra, ignoring the boys teasing each other loudly on the other side of the room. The door opened and the Chuunin teacher walked in with a redheaded girl.

Minato listened politely as the Chuunin introduced his new classmate. He admired the girl's guts. When the class started to laugh at her, he could not help but stand up and unsuccessfully remind the class her goal was not stupid, it was the same as his, she just declared it louder.

He smiled at the girl as she walked past him to her seat and ignored the odd expression she sent his way. He half-listened as the teacher introduced the lesson for the day, the bingo book, and passed around copies of them from different countries, a lesson his father drilled into him the year before and instead focused on trying to spin the coin between his hands under the desk.

"Namikaze!" The Chuunin barked as he noticed Minato's disinterest. "Why aren't Genin in the bingo book?"

"While a majority of Genin are not in the Bingo book, a few have been known to surface due to circumstances which have gained international recognition, most commonly having a Bijuu sealed inside of them or being a close relative to a high-profile target, such as a Kage or extremely powerful Jōnin. The majority of Genin do not have a place because they are not skilled enough to pose a threat or become a target worthy of recognition."

The Chuunin ignored him for the rest of the lesson, during which Minato worked on trying to make the coin spin. Before they moved on to Taijutsu lessons, the boys clustered around the new girl, teasing her. Minato nearly stood up to defend her but remembered what the Chuunin told him earlier. He watched her anger rise and decided against interfering, knowing she would not appreciate the help. Minato barely paid attention to anything for the rest of the day; he spent so much time concentrating on making the coin spin between his palms. Minato was out of his chair and racing out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang, faster than the Chuunin teachers could track.

He wandered along the Konoha streets focusing almost exclusively on the coin, leaving just enough awareness to check for possible danger. He found himself on a secluded path. A familiar chakra signature, the new girl, Kushina, distracted him. From the other direction, one of the boys Kushina beat up earlier appeared with someone else. Minato was about to leave but he decided to wait and see how Kushina would handle the situation.

He watched the scene unfold from a distance. Kushina clearly did not need help once she got angry enough. As the two raced away screaming, she turned to him angrily.

"Well, don't just stand there gaping, I'm sure you have other girls to rescue," she snapped.

Minato opened his mouth to tell her she did not need his help, but she already vanished among the trees. He shrugged and started to walk back towards the village and ask his father about the trick to make the coin spin. He slipped into the hospital and peered over the receptionist's desk.

"Your father just left a few minutes ago Minato-kun," the nurse told him without looking away from her work.

"Thank you, nurse-san," Minato replied before racing home. He slipped off his shoes just inside the door. "I'm back!" He called out to the empty house. "Where is everyone?" Minato walked through the large house his entire clan lived in. For the first time in his memory, it was empty. Not even the old woman, who always stayed in the main room's rocking chair, occupied the house. Minato shoved away the creeping feeling of danger, telling himself he had nothing to fear from an empty house. As he stepped into the main hallway, he bit back a shout of surprise.

A man in a black mask stood working on what appeared to be a bomb in the center of the hallway.

"What are you doing?" Minato demanded. He took a step forward and felt his ankle catch on a thin wire. Before Minato could move, the device exploded. Minato barely had time to cover his skin in a thin layer of chakra before the shockwave struck him, instantly followed by the searing heat. Minato felt his clothes burning away and his skin melting before he struck the end of the hall, screaming.

The first impact knocked the breath out of him and the masked man instantly stood in front of him kunai piercing Minato's chest. Minato focused as much chakra as he could into the man, instantly frying the man's chakra pathways and stopping his heart. A second explosion tore through the air and the man disintegrated in front of Minato. The boy landed on his hands and knees, the kunai falling out of his chest. His arm buckled and he fell heavily on one side, barely conscious. He could hear someone frantically shouting his name.

"To-san?" Minato managed to gasp out through his scalded throat.

"You're going to be fine, Minato, you just need to stay conscious," Masao told him, the panic in his voice terrifying Minato more than anything else. He felt a small bit of his father's chakra in the kunai wound before hands rolled him onto a rough sheet and wrapped him in it. Minato screamed as the fabric rubbed against his burned skin. "You're going to be fine," Masao said again as he lifted the boy into his arms. The father raced towards the hospital. "I need a gurney, NOW!" Masao bellowed and seconds later two nurses raced out with one. Masao laid Minato on it and ran beside the nurses. As they ran into an empty room, nurses ran in with the standard equipment. One nurse tried to put an IV into Minato's arm, but Masao slapped her hands away. "He's living off chakra right now; an IV will disrupt his pathways!" Masao manipulated the gurney until Minato was sitting up slightly and then placed his hands over the boy's chest, healing the near-lethal wound from the kunai. As soon as Masao mostly healed the kunai wound, he switched his hands to the boy's forehead.

Minato screamed and thrashed as Masao forced him back into full consciousness.

"I'm sorry, son, I can't bring you back if you fall unconscious. Somebody hold him down!"

Minato continued to scream as hands touched his blackened skin.

"Minato, listen to me, you have to listen, stop screaming, it's only going to make everything worse, lie still, just like that. I'll be done soon and then you can sleep, bear with me a little bit longer." The nurses pulled their hands off the boy the second he stopped thrashing. "Someone put the IV in, fluids only, and get an oxygen mask on him!"

Minato flinched as the needle pierced his arm and the mask rubbed against his face. "There was no one at home," Minato forced out the words.

"I know, you can tell me everything later. Open your eyes."

Minato immediately began to panic as he blinked his eyes open. "I can't see!"

"That's fine! The room's dark, you'll be fine," Masao reassured him firmly as the nurses exchanged worried looks around the well-lit room.

"To-san, hospitals aren't dark." Minato's lips trembled as tears slipped out of his eyes.

"I'm going to make you go to sleep while I finish healing you, is that okay?"

"No! What's—" Minato suddenly began coughing brutally. Masao automatically laid a hand over the boy's chest and drew out the ash coating the inside of his lungs with chakra. The boy reached up and clung desperately to his father's hand.

"Shhh, I'll explain everything when you feel better."

Before Minato could respond, a second coughing fit wracked him. Masao quickly replaced his hand and forcibly settled Minato's breathing, suppressing the urge to cough.

"Go to sleep," Masao told him firmly and pressed a hand against Minato's forehead.

As soon as he was certain the boy was unconscious, Masao began the tedious process of peeling off melted parts of clothing from his son's body and healing the worst of the burns. The nurses left as soon as they knew Minato was stable. Three hours later, Masao succeeded in healing the third-degree burns to nothing more than awful sunburns. At the same time, he released the technique keeping Minato asleep. In less than a minute, Minato managed to shake off the effects of the forced sleep. Had Masao not been expecting it, Minato would have been stumbling out of the bed in a heartbeat. Holding a hand firmly against Minato's chest, Masao made sure the boy would not be running anywhere. Before Minato could open his eyes, Masao tied a thick blindfold around the boy's head.

"No, you cannot take it off," Masao answered the boy's question before he asked.

"Why?"

Masao just shook his head as he helped Minato dress in a loose hospital gown and shorts, guiding the boy's hands and feet through the proper holes.

As soon as he was dressed, Minato ripped the blindfold off anyways. Bloodshot eyes stared in his general direction, the boy's iris dull grey rather than a vibrant blue. "I can't see," Minato trembled before sliding off the hospital bed and stumbling in the direction of the door. His hands scrambled at a blank section of wall, a few feet to the right of the door. Making sure his footsteps could be heard, Masao walked up and pushed a bit of Chakra into the doorknob. Minato reached towards it and opened the door. His trembling increased as the sounds from the rest of the hospital flooded in.

Minato started in surprise when Masao put a hand on his shoulder and nudged him towards the noise. "You know the way." Curious as to where Minato wanted to go, Masao followed the boy as he pressed himself against the wall and attempted to navigate the hospital. The boy rounded three corners, cut across two hallways and stopped at the dead end of the hall, trembling violently, pressing himself into the corner. Masao took the boy's hands and placed one on his sternum so the boy could feel how he moved and the other on his face so he could feel his expressions. "Where do you want to go, Minato?"

"I-I want t-to go outside," Minato stammered before flinging his arms around his father's neck.

"You were almost there, the door is down the next hallway." Masao picked the boy up and carried him to the door, setting him down on the warm grass. Minato kept a tight grip on Masao's hand as he turned his face towards the sun.

"I can still be a shinobi, right, To-san?"

"You're not going to be blind forever, Mina-chan, your eyes will heal and you'll be able to see again. It's not going to stop you from becoming a shinobi."

"I don't have to be able to see to do Iryo-Ninjutsu, right?"

"No, you don't."

"Can you teach me Iryo-Ninjutsu until I get my sight back?"

"Of course."

"I'm not scared anymore!" Minato turned and grinned widely in his father's direction.

"I know you're not."

"I love you, To-san."

"I love you too, Mina-chan."


	13. Chapter 13

**Loss Part 1**

 _Minato is almost 9. This takes place about two years after the events of 'Burned' and Minato has partially regained his sight, but rarely needs his vision for anything._

 **(-)**

"Can I come with you, To-san?" Minato asked, tugging on his father's arm.

"Not today, Mina-chan, I'm sorry."

"Please? I can help too!"

"Eat your breakfast."

"But To-san!"

"Sorry, Mina-chan. If you want something to do, you can go to the Academy."

"But I want to help you! Not listen to the stupid sensei!"

"Your sensei is not stupid; he has to make sure the other children understand too."

"But he acts like I'm stupid too!"

"I don't want to argue with you, Mina-chan."

"Can I please come with you, To-san? I'll help!"

"Only if you go to the Academy tomorrow."

Minato grinned and nodded in excitement.

"Eat your breakfast," Masao ordered and pushed his son into his seat, placing the boy's hand on his chopsticks.

"I'm not hungry."

"I'm not bargaining, eat or I'll seal off your chakra for the day."

"To-san!"

"You could always go to the Academy for the day."

Reluctantly, Minato wolfed down the food in front of him.

"See, you're hungry."

Minato leapt out of his seat as if it burned him and stumbled over to his father, tugging on the man's arm. "Come on, To-san! Let's go!"

"I'm coming, Mina-chan, be patient."

"I wanna go!" Minato whined.

"No whining," the father rebuked gently, tying a white cloth over the boy's scarred eyes and swinging him onto his back. "Ready?"

"Yes!"

Seconds later, they arrived in front of the hospital.

"Where have you been?" A woman's voice demanded loudly, stomping towards them.

"Good morning, Tsunade-chan."

"It's a damn awful morning you annoying Namikaze! A squad just came back from Kiri and I need help. That boy knows enough to cover the civilian ward with the nurses, now hurry up!" She threw the white, uniform haori and dashed into the hospital.

"He can help me, I'm working in the civilian ward all day today," a young Genin piped up from where she knelt bandaging the knee of an Academy student.

"Thank you, Nanami-chan," Masao acknowledged, slipping his arms into the elbow-length sleeves of the haori and straightening the collar around his chin. A bright green kanji for doctor filled the back of the haori. Masao led Minato over to the girl and placed the boy's hand on her shoulder. "I guess it's a good thing you came today, son. You can work with Nanami-chan."

Minato nodded once.

"Namikaze!" Tsunade's voice filled the hospital and the man vanished in a blur of yellow.

"That's all, kiddo, no more jumping between rooftops until you're a ninja, okay?"

The child nodded and ran out the door.

Nanami turned to Minato. "You're the blind kid, right? I'm Akimichi Nanami." She grasped his hand in a firm handshake. "Even though you look like a kid, I'm guessing you know your stuff, otherwise Tsunade-sama would have booted you out faster than you can say 'dango.' Now, let's see how good you really are, I'm the only ninja in the civilian ward today."

"I'm a ninja too!" Minato protested as he followed Nanami through the ward.

"Not yet you aren't. Can you use Chakra to heal?"

"I know lots of healing!"

"Well, let's see what you can do. There's a man with a broken arm and another who's sick. Which do you want first?"

"Broken arm." Minato turned on his heel and marched towards the correct room.

"Wait a second, put this on, it's the uniform." She handed him a small, white haori. Minato slipped it on, fumbling slightly, and turned to the door.

"This isn't your room, kid," the man said as the boy pushed open the door.

"I'm treating your arm," Minato responded patiently.

"You're just a kid and blind to boot," the man scoffed.

"So?"

"I want a real doctor."

"The hospital only has two fully-trained and capable shinobi doctors on staff and only four civilian doctors. You can go home with a cast and months of recovery or I can heal you and you can leave and go about your business as if you never broke anything."

"How can a blind kid do anything?"

"I'm a ninja."

"Almost," Nanami corrected.

Minato scowled.

"Fine! Don't screw me up, gaki."

Chakra coated Minato's hands and the bone was healed a few minutes later.

"Good job, Minato-kun!" Nanami praised as she checked his work.

"Thanks, gaki," the man grunted out.

The boy nodded once and marched out of the room.

Minato and Nanami alternated patients for the rest of the morning until Masao returned, shedding his haori.

"To-san!" Minato cried and leapt in the man's direction.

"Hey, Mina-chan, is everything quiet here? Nice haori."

"I'm doing awesome job!"

"Speak properly, Mina-chan. Let's go home for lunch, alright?"

"Can we go to the ramen shop instead?"

"We can have ramen at home."

"No!"

Masao pulled his son into a deserted hallway. "Why don't you want to go home?"

"The bad family are there, like they were at the Academy this morning."

The father's face turned white. He picked up the boy and disappeared, reappearing in the Hokage's office, the ANBU nearly stabbing him for his trouble.

"The Takigakure Namikaze are inside the village. They're after the children, recall Hatake immediately."

The Sandaime shot to his feet and motioned at the ANBU. One appeared and Masao knelt in front of Minato.

"To-san! What's—"

"I have to tell the bad people to leave, Minato."

"But then you'll get hurt—"

"I'll come back, Minato, I promise."

"Promise, promise?"

"Promise, promise."

Masao kissed the boy on the forehead and vanished.


	14. Chapter 14

p class="MsoNormal"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Loss Part 2/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"(-)/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"The second his father vanished, Minato moved to follow, but the Sandaime caught his arm. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""You wouldn't want your father to be hurt by getting distracted at your appearance, would you?" The Hokage asked quietly./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Minato shook his head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""Good, will you stay here then?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"After a long moment of hesitation, Minato nodded./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"The Sandaime leapt out of the window, followed by all but one of the ANBU. Minato knelt in the center of the room, slipping quickly into what appeared to be meditation./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Without warning, the boy leapt to his feet and darted out the window, flying through the streets towards the thickest fighting near the edge of the village./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"He drew two tri-pronged kunai from his pockets and stopped between a blond man three times his size and a Konoha Chuunin who had just been forced to drop his katana./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""He's here!" The man shouted and the attention turned to Minato. Minato attacked, stabbing the man's knee just as a second hand closed around his neck. Twisting like a cat, Minato stabbed a kunai through the man's wrist and nearly severed his head with the other knife. Blood sprayed across Minato's face and he kicked himself away from the dead man. The man Minato lamed seconds before grabbed the boy's ankle and threw him at the nearest wall, but pure luck assisted the downed Chuunin in grabbing Minato around the waist and flinging him back towards his former opponent at a dangerous velocity. Minato stabbed a kunai through the man's eye as he passed over his head then crashed into one of the few stone walls in the village. The Chuunin stood and helped Minato to his feet. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""C'mon kid, let's get you to the shelters."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""No! I have to help To-san!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""You're just a kid!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""There he is!" Someone shouted. Minato jerked away from the Chuunin and leapt to meet the new threat. Without the advantage of surprise, Minato found himself caught and disarmed within a few seconds. The Chuunin leapt to his defense and Minato screamed as the assailants killed him without a second thought. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""Release my son!" Masao appeared. The woman holding Minato held a kunai to the boy's throat, the tip digging into the thin muscles of the boy's neck. Luckily for Minato, only Masao paid any attention to his twitching fingers until it was too late./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"One of Minato's kunai flew from the ground and stabbed the woman where her spine met her skull. She died instantly. A second woman grabbed Minato from behind and wrapped an arm around his neck, ready to break it. Masao slit her throat before she could move, spraying Minato's hair with blood. Both barely managed to disengage from the falling body when someone launched themselves at Masao. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Minato screamed as the two men grappled for control of the kunai. Masao twisted out of the man's grasp, sending the kunai plunging into the ground at the lack of resistance. Drawing a second kunai as he continued to spin, Masao rent the man's back from his hip to his opposite shoulder, slicing the muscle and bone without interruption until it ripped through the man's subclavian artery and sliced through his collarbone. Blood sprayed and hovered in the air in a fine mist. He was dead before his head hit the ground and Masao was fending off another assailant. He released a powerful pulse of chakra that froze everyone in the vicinity. The brief reprieve was all Minato needed to drop to his knees and form a perfect dome of furious chakra around himself. A woman rushed forward to grab the boy, but the shock from the chakra was strong enough to stop her heart and fling her away. Minato doubled over, wheezing with the effort. Three of the four clan members focused on capturing Minato turned to his father and attacked as one. The man stumbled backwards, kunai glinting in the sunlight as he struggled to defend himself. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"He slowly backed out into one of the training grounds./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""To-san!" Minato screamed so loud his voice broke, racing towards his father with chakra encasing his body like a second skin. Masao took another step backwards and his leg caught on the edge of a stone memorial. He instinctively swung his arms wide for balance and for the briefest of seconds was entirely undefended. That opening was all they needed. The middle assailant gutted Masao, the one on Masao's left sliced him from jaw to armpit, severing every major artery, and Minato landed on the shoulders of the third, driving a kunai into the woman's head. The other two were shocked with their unexpected victory and didn't even notice Minato until he had gutted them in return./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Minato landed on top of the memorial and dropped the kunai and the shroud of chakra. The cloth tied across his eyes was no longer white; it was soaked with blood, while even more dripped from his face. His hair was streaked with red and the shoulders of his haori were flecked with even more blood. A mixture of blood, dirt, and water from the street he had knelt in soaked him from the knee down. The grass had cleaned the boy's bare feet in return for staining them a mixture of brown and green./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""To-san?" Minato asked tentatively, his hand hovering over his father's head while he wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve. He slid down the memorial and dragged his father to the ground, where he lay unmoving and pale, even as Minato held his father's hand against his chest. Two people grabbed Minato and dragged him away from the carnage. Something inside of him snapped as he lost his grip on his father. "NO!" The boy screamed. He hooked his toe into a kunai as he was dragged backwards and transferred it to his hand, where he managed to sever the tendons of one of the hands holding him. The second person tried to drop him, but Minato grabbed the woman's wrist and stabbed under her arm and into her heart. The person who lost the use of his hand tried to stumble backwards, but Minato kicked off the woman and managed to stab the man's left shoulder as he flew past. With a curse, the man tried to run, but Minato leapt onto his back and severed his spine, just above the man's shoulders./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Chakra flared around him and stopped two kunai from striking him in the chest as he pushed off from the dead man before he hit the ground. Minato caught them both and transferred one to his foot, attaching it with chakra before landing on the memorial and flinging himself towards the person who threw the kunai. In seconds she was dead. Three women arrived and after seeing him standing in the center of six kills, one ran, shouting an alarm, and the other two ran forward. Minato latched on to the arm attempting to land the first strike and disabled it with a swift cut and kicked the woman in the stomach, driving the kunai attacked to his foot through her spine. The second woman sliced at his neck even as Minato severed the head of the first, but his chakra shield diverted the strike long enough for him to latch onto her arm and kill her in a similar manner. Minato stumbled as he landed and fell to all fours./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"On the side of the clearing, a small group of clan members appeared, horrified by the carnage. Minato threw down the kunai in his hands and fled. Just before he reached the gates, a familiar face appeared in front of the boy. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""Where are you going, kid?" Sakumo demanded./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""Get out of my way."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""Academy students aren't allowed to leave the village except in emergencies while accompanied by a ranked shinobi."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""I just killed sixteen individuals in my clan, Sakumo-san. Clan law says I'm exiled for a single, unsanctioned murder."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""Konoha law states that as long as you're attacked first, no charges can be put to you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""Our laws are our laws and they exist for a very good reason."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""You're eight, Minato-kun. You can't survive for long outside of the village."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""That's the point!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""I won't let you leave."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""I'm eight and I've killed more than twice the number of people as years I've been alive. I'm not someone you want in your village. Let me go."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""Sorry, kid, you're staying here."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"With a scream, Minato leapt forward and attacked. Sakumo knocked aside the first few punches with the flat of his blade, but on the fifth strike, Minato grabbed it, even as the blade cut deeply into his palms, and channeled chakra into it, forcing Sakumo to let go with a curse. Minato righted the blade in his hands and slashed wildly. With the metal plates on the back of his hands, Sakumo deflected the blade at wild angles. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Minato abruptly slipped into a different pattern, and flipped upside down, kicking at Sakumo's head and slashing at his knee. The blade nicked his thigh before he could leap away, but instead of landing on the ground, his shoulder caught on a tree and sent him off-balance. Minato landed on his chest and sent him crashing to the ground, blade at his neck./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""If you kill me, kid, you're dead."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""I'm dead anyways."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""I don't think you want to die."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""I don't want to live!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""I don't believe you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""Just let me go!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""If you want to leave, you have to kill me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Minato's hand started to tremble./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""You kill me, you're as good as dead before you reach the village wall."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Minato wiped away the tears welling in his eyes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""I don't think you want to die."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Minato readjusted his grip on the tantō./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""You can still build a life here, clan or not. I know you're not too far gone for that."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Minato did nothing as Sakumo slid the blade out of his hand and tossed it to the side, sitting up and wrapping his arms around the boy's shoulders./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""You're not the only one to shed innocent blood." Sakumo murmured./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""But I'm going to stop it," the boy responded, resolved. He pulled away and met Sakumo's eyes steadily. "I'm going to stop the fighting and the civil wars and the big wars and I'm going to make sure only bad people die."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"Minato took off his haori and stood up. Flames rose from the hem, licking up the fabric until the heat forced Minato to release the garment. It fell to the ground and burned until it was nothing but ash floating away in the light breeze./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;""You'll go far, kid," Sakumo said. "And you have my support."/span/p 


	15. Chapter 15

**The Bell Test Part 1**

 _Minato and his Genin team taking the bell test from Jiraiya_

 _Minato, Fugaku, and Taja are 10, Jiraiya is 24. (Fugaku's age is a bit different from canon)_

 _Kaori is Hatake Sakumo's wife_

 **(FUGAKU)**

"Team six will be Uchiha Fugaku, Namikaze Minato, and Nara Taja under the Jōnin sensei Jiraiya," the Chuunin teacher rattled off.

"What? I was only supposed to be apprenticed to Jiraiya-san until the teams were formed!" Minato exclaimed indignantly, leaping to his feet.

"Speaking out of turn is unlike you, Namikaze. If you have a problem, you can bring your appeal the head Jōnin who allotted the senseis. You should be honored to have one of the _Legendary Sannin_ to teach you."

Minato sat down heavily.

"Why am I stuck on a team with the two worst students in the class?" Fugaku demanded, his words dignified and clear as he rose to his feet, slow and deliberate.

The Chuunin took a deep breath before responding, "Uchiha-san, teams are made based on graduation test scores. If you have a problem with your teammates, bring your appeal to the head Jōnin. Nara-san, do you have a complaint also?" The Chuunin glanced at the third teammate with exasperation.

"No, sir!" She breathed as the room's attention turned to her.

"Team seven will be Hyuuga Tarou, Inuzuka Kurou, and Uzumaki Kushina under Jōnin sensei Sarutobi Biwako," the Chuunin continued, only pausing for a second as Kushina leapt into the air with a cheer and continuing the list.

Fugaku glared at Minato sitting stiffly on the edge of his seat, eyes unfocused. The Chuunin droned in the background. He did not mind being on a team with the Nara girl, everyone knew her IQ to be on par with the rest of her clan, but he hated the thought of working with the Namikaze. He only began attending class regularly a few months before, his test scores could not be worse if he tried, and rumors implied he did not know any Ninjutsu nor the basic Academy Taijutsu. In the class rankings, his name hung on the bottom of the list.

"Your Jōnin senseis will come and pick you up from the classroom. Remain here until that time," the Chuunin finished and left the room. Immediately, the room erupted into conversation as teammates grouped together.

"This is going to be the most epic team ever!" The loudmouth Uzumaki announced. "Here's what we're gonna do," Her voice lowered as she started to plot with her teammates. Fugaku made his way down to the front row where the Nara girl tipped her chair back and stared absently at the ceiling. Sitting heavily in the chair beside the girl, Fugaku waited impatiently. Minato pulled out a book from a well-worn satchel, dropping it heavily on the desk and swinging underneath it to sit comfortably and read.

Fugaku glared at him.

"Listen," Minato grumbled, meeting Fugaku's glare evenly, "Jiraiya-san is currently two streets away at the public baths. He has some sort of weird obsession with sitting outside of public bath houses. Frankly, I don't want to know what it's all about."

Fugaku's eyes narrowed further as he noticed Minato's slight accent to be clearly foreign. "How could you possibly know that? Do you have some sort of tracker on him?" Fugaku snatched the blond's book and riffled through the pages.

"No, I'm a sensor, now please give that back," Minato held out his hand expectantly for the book. "I suggest you find something to do for the next hour, I'll tell you when he's coming."

"Why should I listen you?"

"If you don't believe me, fine. No one ever does, but you can ask him where he's been when you get here and he's going to say 'researching' then change the subject. Until then, can I have my book back please?"

Fugaku glared down at Minato. "Sit in a chair and wait like a normal person."

"Fine," Minato sighed and twitched his fingers. The book flew out of Fugaku's hand and into Minato's on the page he left off on.

"How did you do that?" The Nara girl asked curiously as the first Jōnin sensei called out his team.

"Figure it out," Minato shrugged and grabbed the leg of her chair to pull himself to his feet, walking to the other side of the desk and sitting down on the floor, out of sight of his two teammates.

The Nara shrugged and went back to contemplating the ceiling while Fugaku fought to keep the indignant anger off his face.

An hour later, only a handful of teams remained. "Sensei's headed this way, E.T.A. one minute," Minato said suddenly, snapping his book closed, standing to stuff it into his bag, which he swung over his shoulder.

"You better be right," Fugaku snapped, standing up alongside the Nara.

A minute later, Jiraiya poked his head through the door and pointed at his Genin team. "You three, meet me on the academy training ground in ten minutes. Last one there has ten laps around the village." A breath later, he was gone.

"He means it, so you guys better race," Minato advised, swinging his satchel over his shoulder and turning his back to his teammates.

"You're not going to?" The Nara girl asked.

Minato turned around and continued walking away, backwards. "I may not know most of the stuff I'm supposed to know to graduate the Academy, but I'm as fast as most Chuunin. You don't have a chance at catching me." He spun around and slipped through the doorway.

Fugaku forced down the growl rising in his throat before racing after the blond. The Nara raced after the two, hopelessly outrun.

When Fugaku raced around the last building before the training ground, only to find a kunai hurtling directly at his face. He ducked, knocking himself off balance and tumbling into the dirt. As he regained his senses, he saw Minato standing over him, holding a hand out to help him up.

"You okay?" He asked, appearing genuinely worried.

"What do you want?" Fugaku slapped Minato's hand away and stood up himself.

"I was going to help you up—"

"Go eat your lunch, gaki," Jiraiya interrupted, grabbing Minato by his hood and shoving him towards the training ground. "Now, boy, what were the five things you just did wrong?" Jiraiya grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to his feet.

Fugaku glared at the man, "I lost my balance."

"Wrong, try again. If you can guess two before the other girl gets here, I won't make you run the ten laps with her."

"I fell?"

"Nope," Jiraiya smirked down at him. "You're supposed to be a genius, kid."

"I came around the corner too fast?"

"Closer, but no. You have thirty seconds before the girl gets here."

"I did not make any mistakes," Fugaku snapped.

"Wrong again." Jiraiya turned away from him and sent a fireball towards the corner Fugaku just rounded. The Nara girl squealed and rolled underneath the fireball then back to her feet with a kunai in hand. "Good girl, but you made three mistakes, you have ninety seconds to tell me what they were or you get an extra five laps around the village."

"I was going too fast," she responded after ten seconds of catching her breath.

"Correct, and the other mistakes?"

"I don't know," she gasped out.

"Good answer; you only have two extra laps around the village. Both of you, come get a lunch." Jiraiya waved them forward to where Minato sat poking at the rice in the bento box with his chopsticks. "Eat it, gaki, or I'll make you run double the laps the other two have." Jiraiya handed the two other Genin a bento box before digging into his own and talking between bites. "You," Jiraiya pointed at Fugaku, "Made five mistakes total, first, you ran around the corner without checking. Second, you were running too fast. Race or not, you always need to be in perfect control of your body. Third, you ducked to avoid the kunai, knocking yourself off balance and cutting off your sight from possible enemies. You should have leaned to the side. Those were your original mistakes. Afterwards, you made two more. You didn't check for any other enemies and you made contact with Minato before checking if he was the real deal." He pointed towards the Nara. "You made three mistakes total. The first you got right, you were running too fast. The second is the same as the boy, you didn't check around the corner. The third is that you squealed." Jiraiya pointed at Minato. "You are an annoying little brat who can run twenty laps around the village for ruining my first test."

Minato scowled.

"Don't give me that look. Now that's out of the way, let's start to get to know each other. Tell your name, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, and your biggest weakness. You first," Jiraiya pointed at Fugaku.

"You go first. You are the one bossing us around, show us how it is done."

"Fine, I'm Jiraiya. I like—well that's a little to mature for you kids. I dislike—I'll come back to that one. My dream for the future is a world of peace and my biggest weakness is something you three can try and figure out. Your turn."

Fugaku crossed his arms. "I am Uchiha Fugaku. I like training and I dislike idiots who interfere with said training. I do not have any dreams for the future, but eventually I will end up as Clan head. A shinobi never reveals his weaknesses."

"And you, girl?"

"I'm Nara Taja. I like stargazing and the dark because it's quiet. I dislike loud noises. I don't have any dreams for the future and like Fugaku-san said, ninja don't reveal their weaknesses."

"Gaki, you're last."

"I'm Namikaze Minato. I like reading and I dislike fighting and darkness. My dream is to be Hokage so everyone will listen to me and believe what I say. My biggest weakness is gone now so I see no need to share."

"Well, you didn't do exactly what I asked, but it'll be good enough for now." Jiraiya pulled out two bells. "I'm a busy man and I don't have time to train all three of you, so one of you is going back to the academy for another year. Whoever fails this test and doesn't get a bell from me before sunset loses their spot on this team. Whether you pass or not, you three will still have to run your laps. Any questions?"

"You're a Jōnin, one of the Sannin also. We're barely out of the Academy. There's no way for us to get the bells from you!" Taja stated.

"I will be limited to Taijutsu only and be going easy on you. You can use whatever jutsus you want. If you come at me with the intent to kill, you might have a chance."

"And what if we accidentally kill you?" Fugaku asked, more curious than worried.

"If you manage to scratch me, I'll run your laps for you. Time starts now. Enjoy losing."

The Genin scattered, sliding into the trees and brush around the clearing. Jingling the bells in his right hand, Jiraiya pulled out three kunai and threw them towards each of the Genin's hiding places.

"All three of you should be able to do better than that, pathetic," Jiraiya taunted. A second later Fugaku raced out of his hiding spot, furious, throwing a handful of shuriken as cover and attacking behind them with two kunai. The Jōnin ducked underneath the projectiles and grabbed Fugaku's ankle, throwing him against the ground. While Jiraiya was distracted, Taja jumped forward and attempted her clan's signature shadow jutsu. Jiraiya danced out of range as the jutsu entrapped Fugaku instead. As he flew out of the way, Minato threw three kunai, which wobbled in the air, at Jiraiya's exposed back and stepped forward to take the bells as the Jōnin leaned to avoid the kunai. Taja dove out of the way to keep the kunai from hitting Fugaku instead.

"What Genin cannot even throw a kunai straight?" Fugaku demanded before rushing forward to engage Jiraiya, who dodged them easily, even when Taja joined the melee.

Twenty minutes later, Fugaku and Taja disengaged to catch their breath while Minato continued to attempt to slip through Jiraiya's defense. Fugaku studied their movements carefully, attempting to reason out a pattern in Jiraiya's movements, noting with annoyance how Minato lived up to his claim of moving as fast as a Chuunin. A minute later, Minato disengaged, red-faced but not breathing hard. Minato studied Jiraiya, who appeared perfectly unruffled. After a few seconds of contemplation, he rushed towards his teammates and dragged them into the forest.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Fugaku demanded, swinging a fist forward to punch Minato's face.

Deftly, Minato avoided the hit and danced out of reach. "Think about it, Nara-san was right, he's one of the best Jōnin in the village. There's this old children's story in my clan about a group of ants who worked together and took down a rat that kept ruining their home. Jiraiya-sensei's that rat and we're the ants. If we want to beat him and get those bells, we have to work together."

"There is only two bells. If we do not want to go back to the academy we have to get one and one of us is not going to."

"If we can't get the bells by sunset we're all going to go back to the academy. Let's get the bells and worry about who gets them later, deal?"

"That sounds good," Taja clasped her hands together. "Now for a plan. Uchiha-san, you're strong and heavier than both of us. You charge forward and distract sensei, grab him and slow him down it you can. I'll use my shadow jutsu to make him stand still, and Minato, you rush in and grab the bells if he avoids my jutsu."

"He is a Jōnin, he is not going to fall for something as simple as that," Fugaku responded scathingly.

"You don't need to be mean about it!" Minato defended her. "All three of us are ranked as geniuses, I'm almost certain he knows that, so he's going to expect something much more complicated. It needs to be simple, but we need more. Instead of just attacking him with Taijutsu, throw as many weapons at him as you can before engaging. Throw this kunai towards the bells and I'll make it cut the strings—"

"How are you going to do that?" Fugaku snapped.

Minato held up the plain kunai. His chakra flared and two prongs appeared while the kunai changed color and became harder to see.

Fugaku's hands came together in the hand seal to release a Genjutsu. "Kai!" he shouted but nothing changed.

"I can't even do normal Ninjutsu, what makes you think I can perform a Genjutsu?" Minato grumbled, patience wearing thin. "It's solid, here," Handing him the kunai, Minato continued with his plan. "It might cut the strings on the bells and make them fall. While he's trying to avoid my kunai, Nara-san will use her shadow jutsu to try and immobilize him. Don't try too hard to catch him, it's not going to work. If my kunai works and Nara-san's jutsu manages to entrap him, Uchiha-san will grab the bells and we'll figure out who gets them, if it doesn't then we'll transition onto plan B, which will be Nara-san's original plan. Anything else?"

"We are going to settle this now, who gets the bells?" Fugaku demanded. The three settled into a thoughtful silence

"What if we hide the bells?"

"Are you as stupid as you look?" Fugaku growled. "Then none of us will have the bells and we will all go back to the Academy."

"He won't have the bells and we will but he won't be able to tell which one of us has the bells, even if he searches us and we can demand that he train us all in exchange for who has the bells."

"He's a Jōnin; he'll know we hid the bells. Besides, how are we going to hide them?" Taja asked.

After a minute of though, Minato responded, "Drop them on the ground and I'll bury them in a way he won't be able to find them without churning up the entire training ground. In order for this to work, we have to all commit to it even if he threatens to send us all back to the Academy."

"I am not—" Fugaku protested.

"You have to," Taja snapped. "For this to work with have to risk all or nothing."

"Fine!" Fugaku threw his hands into the air, "We'll all be headed back to the Academy tomorrow, but if this this is how you want to do it, I'm going to hold it over your heads forever."

"Likewise, now let's go," Minato sighed and started to run back towards the clearing.

As soon as they arrived, the three split up and circled around Jiraiya who stood in the center of the clearing flipping a kunai in the air absently. Fugaku threw a hail of shuriken at Jiraiya followed by two handfuls of kunai, mixed among them was the kunai Minato handed him, which had gone back to looking like a normal kunai. As it raced through the air, the two other prongs formed on it and it began to spin. Jiraiya pulled the bells out of the way and the kunai followed his motion. The Jōnin's lips twitched upwards as he caught the handle of the tricky kunai and launched it towards Minato, following it with a flip backwards to escape Taja's jutsu. A heartbeat later, Fugaku leapt towards him, forcing him to take a step back towards Taja's jutsu. While Fugaku's body blocked Jiraiya's view of Minato, he threw the pronged kunai back towards the bells in Jiraiya's hand. With a surprising amount of awareness and dexterity, Fugaku swung his leg at Jiraiya's head, further hiding the kunai's adjusted flight towards the bells. Jiraiya's grin only spread wider. The bells fell towards the ground without a sound. Fugaku twisted his body to land on top of them, feeling them press into his back before disappearing into the ground and Taja's jutsu piggybacked off Fugaku's shadow to imprison Jiraiya.

"We win." Fugaku stated, rolling to his feet and tossing three more kunai at his arm to scratch the skin.

"A scratch from each of us so you have to run our laps." Minato ran forward, smiling widely as Taja released the jutsu and met the two boys. All three stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Ah, good job all three of you, but only two of you can have the bells so who is going to go back to the Academy?"

"You have to promise to train all three of us before we tell you who has the bells," Fugaku bargained.

"I only have time to train two of you."

"You cannot make us tell you until you promise to train all three of us," Fugaku maintained.

Jiraiya reached forward so quickly neither Fugaku nor Taja could see and Minato only had time to flinch before Jiraiya pulled him away by the hair from the other two, pressing a hand over the blond's eyes. Immediately, Minato began to struggle violently, clawing at Jiraiya's hand. "I could always burn his eyes out if you don't tell me."

Fugaku's eyes flickered between Minato, whose lip bled from biting back screams, and Jiraiya, who appeared perfectly serious. Taja grabbed Fugaku's arm and hid her face behind his shoulder. Jiraiya's hand started to glow red and Minato whimpered. "Stop!" Fugaku screamed, trembling as hard as Minato and holding onto Taja's arm for support.

"Why should I?"

"Because, if you hurt him and ruin his career, we will never tell you who has the bells even if you send us back to the Academy!"

"Good job, you all pass. Welcome to Team Jiraiya." The Jōnin released Minato and pushed him towards his teammates. Minato stumbled forward, falling to his knees in front of Fugaku, who immediately grabbed the blond's face to make sure he was unharmed. "The test was about teamwork and to see how much you would risk for your teammates. Considering how you're all glaring at me, I guess I might have taken it a bit too far, but you were doing too well for me to stop. Now I really am curious, which one of you has the bells?"

Fugaku only glared at him as he ducked under Minato's arm and pulled him to his feet, motioning for Taja to answer instead.

"None of us have the bells. Namikaze-san hid them so you couldn't make us tell you who had them."

"Clever. Taja-chan, will you make sure Minato-kun goes home? He lives at the Hatake compound. We'll meet at Training Ground Fifteen tomorrow at seven in the morning. Fugaku-kun, stay here, I still need to talk to you."

Taja picked up Minato's bag and put his still-trembling arm around her shoulders, guiding him off the training ground. As soon as they were out of earshot, Fugaku turned on Jiraiya. "What did you do to him? Someone does not freak out because their eyes are covered."

Jiraiya crossed his arms before responding, "You're right. Few people would. I don't want you to go home complaining to your parents that the Academy allowed that gaki to graduate. I'm not going to deny Minato is very far behind you and Taja-chan in terms of normal Genin skills. This is not because he's stupid, in fact, he's probably twice as intelligent as you and Taja-chan, even if he's naïve and his book learning is quite a few years behind."

"That is quite a claim."

"Had Minato attended class more, he probably wouldn't be so far behind; however, he spent most of his Academy years blinded by a botched assassination attempt on his father and before he regained his sight, he fought and killed in his clan's civil war only to be disowned in all but name."

Fugaku frowned. "Is that why he was never in class?"

"Yes. His parents didn't make him go to class and deal with all the pity and attention blindness would incite. For obvious reasons, he did not attend the Academy for a while after the war. I'm not telling you this so you can pity him, but so you will be patient and explain things to him when he doesn't understand."

"Is that all?"

"No. I don't want to get involved in your team dynamics. You're the one disrupting everything, so fix it."

"Fine," Fugaku snapped.

"Enjoy the rest of your afternoon." Jiraiya vanished in a swirl of leaves.


	16. Chapter 16

**The Bell Test Part 2**

 **(FUGAKU)**

The next morning, Fugaku stood on the edge of the training ground an hour early, throwing shuriken at the target on the opposite side and hoping for Minato to arrive before everyone else. Thankfully, the blond arrived a few minutes after him, glancing over his shoulder as though he was being followed. Fugaku met Minato at the target and started to yank his weapons out.

"I apologize for how rude I was to you yesterday." Fugaku could not meet Minato's eyes.

"Apology accepted. Kaori-san is coming after because I skipped breakfast. Can you tell her we agreed to meet here and I was late, please?"

"You should not skip breakfast."

Minato mumbled something incoherent.

"Minato-kun!" A woman's voice scolded and she appeared behind Minato a second later. "I told you to eat before you left for training today."

"I am Uchiha Fugaku. Minato-san and I agreed to meet early for extra training, Hatake-san," Fugaku intervened smoothly, placing himself between Kaori and Minato. "We're already starting later than we intended because Minato-san was late. Would you please excuse us?"

Kaori's eyes narrowed in displeasure but she could not argue without appearing rude to the Uchiha scion. "Very well. Enjoy your day." She vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"Now we have to train in case she comes back!"

Minato shrugged, still not meeting Fugaku's eyes.

"You're going to start by learning how to throw a kunai straight; a normal one, not your weird one." Fugaku dragged Minato ten feet away from the target. "Now, are you right or left-handed?"

"Left," Minato responded, shoulders straightening.

"Then why is your weapons pouch on your right leg?"

Minato shrugged and Fugaku did not press the point. Instead, he launched into explaining the proper form. By the time Jiraiya arrived and hid in the trees to watch, unknown by the two boys, Minato went from not knowing the proper form to hitting the center of the target almost every try. Fugaku then demanded Minato teach him how he had taken the book out of his hand the morning before. While Minato explained basic chakra manipulation, Jiraiya intercepted Taja before she could interrupt the boys and left them to train by themselves.


	17. Chapter 17

**Lessons Part 1**

 _How Minato learned Fūinjutsu_

 _Minato and Kushina are 10._

 _Three months after Genin graduation, one month after rescuing Kushina who received the Kyuubi the day after she returned._

 **(MINATO)**

Minato skidded to a stop on the training ground where Jiraiya and his Genin team waited.

"Should I ask why you're ten minutes late?" Jiraiya asked, irritated.

Minato shook his head and bent over double, gasping for air.

"Well, I'm going to ask anyways. Where were you?"

Minato shook his head again, unable to answer.

"We aren't starting until you tell me."

"Hokage-san—had a bunch of—questions that—I had to answer—said you—wouldn't get mad."

"The Hatake compound is a quarter mile away, you shouldn't be winded after that short of a run."

"Not—at the compound—had to go to—Hokage tower—then back to the compound—to get training stuff." Minato forced himself to stand up and placed his hands on his head.

"Now that's settled," Jiraiya clapped his hands with an annoyed glance at Minato's loud gasping. "You three are going to be working on using and recognizing explosive tags today."

Jiraiya launched into a long-winded explanation of the basics of commonly used Fūinjutsu. Throughout the explanation, the three Genin listened intently. At noon, they left to take a D-rank mission, a simple job of cleaning up the orphanage's run-down playground, which they finished an hour later. During the mission, Minato barely paid attention and when Jiraiya dismissed them, Minato stayed behind.

"You said that explosive tags are a form of Fūinjutsu, right?"

"You know exactly what I said. What do you want?" Jiraiya demanded, exasperated.

"Is Fūinjutsu just making explosive tags?"

"Of course not, you can use it for almost anything, for example: barriers, security alarms, storage, communication, basically anything if you're good enough." Jiraiya took a step back when he noticed the expression on Minato's face. "I'm not going to take responsibility for teaching it to a Genin only to have you get in trouble using it. All the blame will go to me so don't even ask me to teach you anything more than explosive tags until you're a Chuunin, got it? We don't need anyone else blowing themselves up trying to learn it on their own, so you're not allowed to go to the library and look it up. That's an order."

Minato opened his mouth to protest, but Jiraiya turned his back and left. Sitting down on the newly repaired swing, Minato watched a trail of ants on the ground, contemplating a way to learn more about seals without going against orders, entirely oblivious to his surroundings.

"What'cha doing, Minato-kun?" A girl's voice said in his ear, warm breath tickling the side of his neck, Minato jumped and twisted out of the swing only to find his ankles loosely tied together and crashed to the ground with a startled yelp. The redhead clung to swing's chain cackling.

"What was that for?" Minato growled trying to untangle his feet.

"You looked like you were thinking too hard," Kushina answered once she regained control of herself. She held out a hand to help him to his feet.

"How did you find me?" Minato accepted her hand, slightly suspicious.

"I walk by here every day on my way home."

"Oh," Minato sat back down in the swing, stiffening slightly when Kushina wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Why're you so quiet?"

"Trying to figure something out,"

"I thought you were super smart, Minato-kun. What's so hard that it's taking you this long to figure out?"

"I'm not super smart, Uzumaki-san."

"I'll convince you someday. What's the problem?"

"Sensei showed us explosive tags today and when I asked him about other types Fūinjutsu, he told me about all this cool stuff it can do and banned me from learning it on my own!" Minato grumbled. "I'm trying to think of someone who knows enough about Fūinjutsu and will teach it to me. The problem is, I don't know anyone except the Hokage and Jiraiya-sensei who knows anything about sealing."

"That's because they're two of the three people in the village who know anything more than the rudiments."

"So who's the third person?"

"She's the really mature and pretty girl with awesome red hair."

"Who?" Minato asked excitedly, completely oblivious.

"It's me!" Kushina cried in frustration, flinging her hair into Minato's face.

"You're a Genin. How do you know about sealing?" He spluttered, trying to clear his face.

"I'm an Uzumaki!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on," Kushina grabbed his hand and dragged him through the swing.

"Hey!" Minato protested as he stumbled, trying to regain his balance as she yanked him along behind her.

The two ran through the alley and leapt over multiple fences before bursting through someone's back door.

"Shouldn't you knock before bursting into someone's house?" Minato asked as Kushina pulled him deeper into the giant house.

"Nah, it's fine, Jiji doesn't mind. He says I'm supposed to use his sealing room in case something goes wrong because Jiji thinks my explosions are on accident and doesn't realize I'm doing it on purpose. Oh, hi, Jiji!" Kushina dodged around someone stepping out of the room. "I'm gonna use your sealing room-Oomph!"

Minato failed to dodge the man as Kushina dragged him off-balance. Her momentum ripped their hands apart and the two fell to the ground. Before landing, Minato's head struck the wall with a sickening crack.

"Kushina-chan, it's not nice to drag other people around," the man said and lifted Minato to his feet, pressing his hand firmly over Minato's head to stop the stream of blood quickly soaking his hair. "Come on, Minato-kun; let's get you to Biwako before you get blood all over yourself."

Minato squeezed his eyes shut as the man's face in front of him remained blurry and unrecognizable.

"Hiruzen, what is all this racket about?" A woman's voice cried. "Kushina-chan, who is this?"

The woman lifted Minato by the arms to sit him on a small table in the hallway. She gently peeled the man's hand off of Minato's head and replaced it with her own, covered with healing chakra.

"Is he alright?" Kushina asked, worried and clinging to Minato's arm. "I'm sorry Minato-kun, I didn't want to throw you into the wall! I promise! Biwako-sensei, is he going to be alright?"

"Be quiet, child." After a minute of healing, Biwako addressed Minato. "Open your eyes for me, Minato-san."

It took Minato a moment to process the order but he opened his eyes obediently, struggling to focus on Biwako's face.

"Blink once if you can see clearly, twice if you can't."

Minato blinked twice.

Biwako took the hand Kushina was not clinging to and checked his pulse. "Touch your finger to your nose, Minato-san."

He did as she asked, struggling slightly.

"Is he alright?" Kushina asked, tugging persistently on Biwako's clothes.

"He will be fine in the morning. Go get him a glass of water, Kushina-chan."

Kushina rushed off as Biwako stepped away and the man lifted Minato into his arms and carried him into a room down the hall. "You're sleeping here for the night," Biwako said as the man laid him on a large bed. "Hiruzen will tell Sakumo where you are so he doesn't worry. I can't believe you, child. You survive fights with barely a scratch, but get a concussion from running inside."

"Biwako," the man warned in a low voice.

"Fine, don't let him get up, Hiruzen; I'm going to make sure Kushina isn't making a mess."

As soon as she left, Minato tried to sit up, holding his head.

The man put a hand on his chest and pushed him back down. "You should lie down before we both get in trouble."

A minute later, Minato recognized the man's voice. "You're the Hokage!"

"Correct."

"Uzumaki-san calls you 'Jiji'," Minato deadpanned.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I haven't the faintest idea."

Minato sat up again and the Hokage did not protest.

"That's it!" Biwako announced as she returned. "Young lady, you're going to go to the Hatake compound and tell Sakumo what happened and then you're going to go find yourself something to do that is out of my hair. Hiruzen, I'm sure you have plenty of paperwork to do and shinobi to scold, now go and don't come back until dinnertime. I'm sick of ANBU walking through this house looking for you. Young man, this is your last warning, you are going to lie down and rest before I _make_ you."

Ten seconds later, the Hokage and Kushina took their orders, but Minato remained upright.

"Lie down, Minato-kun," Biwako ordered, stepping forward to grab his arm. Minato flinched away and stood up, slightly unsteady.

"I'll be fine Biwako-sama. I won't bother you anymore." Minato stumbled towards the door, staggering as if someone forced an entire bottle of sake down his throat.

Biwako grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the bed. "Listen kid, I can tell you don't like being taken care of, but you can't even walk straight so lie down. I promise you can leave in the morning after breakfast."

Minato started to protest but Biwako ignored him as she used a damp cloth to wash the blood out of Minato's hair. When he refused to stop trying to pull away, she pressed her thumb against Minato's forehead, forcing his mind into unconsciousness and laying him underneath the blankets after taking off his shoes.


	18. Chapter 18

**Lessons Part 2**

 **(~MINATO)**

When Biwako's sleep jutsu wore off, Minato found himself feeling like a glorified pillow as someone lay sprawled over him, clinging to the mesh shirt he wore underneath his jacket. In the dying candlelight, Minato recognized Kushina's bright red hair.

He frowned as he tried to figure out a way to disentangle himself from her grip without waking her up. Before he could try anything, the door opened and someone entered carrying a fresh candle. Minato quickly feigned sleep, slowing his heartbeat and breathing.

"How did she get in here?" The man asked himself softly. Minato recognized the Hokage's voice. He blew out the dying candle and replaced it with the new one. He gently opened Kushina's grasp and lifted her off Minato's chest, laying her a few inches away and draping a blanket over her curled frame. The Hokage pressed two fingers against Minato's neck, checking his pulse. "For your age, you're pretty impressive at faking sleep, but not good enough to fool me."

Minato's eyes blinked open to see the Hokage crouching beside him wearing a dressing gown over the loose black outfit most shinobi slept in. The Hokage's hand moved towards Minato's head and the boy jerked away.

"I'm not going to make you go back to sleep," he soothed and laid his hand over Minato's forehead, "I'm just going to do a quick diagnostic jutsu, nothing more, I promise." His other hand formed a quick hand seal. Minato flinched at the rush of unfamiliar chakra through his body. "Looks like you're all good. Come on; let's get you something to eat." The Hokage helped Minato to his feet and guided him into the kitchen with a firm hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Why is Uzumaki-san's chakra different than before?" Minato asked suddenly. The Hokage spun around in surprise.

Before answering, the Hokage walked over to the door and closed it before activating the privacy seal above the handle. Minato straightened, sensing he trod on serious ground. "Why do you think Kushina's chakra is different?"

"She has a lot more chakra. Like if her chakra was a little candle before, it's now a giant bonfire. I'm only asking because if hers is a like—like giant forest fire, then yours and Jiraiya sensei's and Sakumo-san's would be little campfires."

"When did you notice the difference?" The Hokage asked warily.

"I don't want to get her into trouble," Minato looked up, wide-eyed.

"You won't, I promise, but she could get hurt if you don't tell me exactly what you know," the Hokage pressed him and sat down opposite of Minato, abandoning the tea he was preparing. "When did you notice the difference?"

"It was a few days after I brought her back from those kidnappers. She told me she would be out of the hospital in three days, but she wasn't so I got worried and went to visit her. She had a lot of chakra but looked really sick and it didn't make sense because sick people don't have very much chakra. She asked if I thought she was a monster but I told her that was a silly question because she isn't. She was all sad afterwards so I didn't want to ask her about it."

"Just because she has a lot of chakra doesn't mean it's different."

"But when she grabbed my hand yesterday, I noticed that she didn't just have a lot of chakra, it was like she had another person's chakra inside of her too."

The Hokage choked in surprise.

Minato looked at him curiously.

"Have you talked to anyone about this?"

"No."

"Are you absolutely sure you haven't mentioned this to anyone, even by accident?"

"I'm sure."

The Hokage sighed in relief.

"But why is her chakra different?"

The Hokage hesitated. "That's not my secret to give out. Ask Kushina-chan about it. No matter how she answers, do not tell anyone about any of this under any circumstances, okay? If they ask you about anything that sounds remotely close to any of what you told me, tell me about them immediately, no matter what. Do you understand?"

Minato nodded quickly, closing his eyes and tuning away from the Hokage's intensity. "Understood, Hokage-sama."

"Go knock on the door to wake Biwako up." Minato nodded and stood to leave. "On your way back, wake Kushina-chan up too. She sleeps heavily."

Minato broke the privacy seal as he left the room, and the boy could hear him release a pent-up breath in relief. Walking quickly and confidently through the house, Minato followed Biwako's chakra signature through the house and knocked on the door.

"What do you need, child?" She asked softly, barely loud enough for Minato to hear.

"Hokage-sama asked me to wake you up."

"I'll be out in a minute. Could you wake up Kushina-chan also, please?"

"Yes, Biwako-sama," Minato hurried towards Kushina's chakra signature, unconsciously memorizing the layout of the house.

He knocked as he opened the door, but Kushina barely flinched in her sleep. He approached the bed warily and gently shook her shoulder before taking a quick step back as if he expected her to bite his arm off. Kushina rubbed her face and pulled the blanket up over her ears. Minato shook her shoulder again and her eyes blinked open. "You're alive!" She squealed and leapt toward him. Minato shouted in surprise and tried to stumble out of the way but she wrapped her arms around his neck, sending him crashing to the ground.

"But I didn't die!" Minato wheezed as she straddled his chest.

"I suppose that's true." Kushina conceded after a thoughtful second. "You make a warm pillow."

"I'm not a pillow!" Minato blushed.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"No you're not."

"Thank you."

"Hey! You're supposed to say you are!"

"But you agreed with me! Why would I change sides?"

"I dunno, it's just what people do. Even Jiji does and he's supposed to be the smartest in the whole village!" Kushina rolled over Minato's head so she lay mirroring him, arms spread on either side.

"Your hair doesn't taste as pretty as it looks," Minato commented as he spat out the red strands covering his face.

"Hey!" Kushina protested then tasted her hair. "Ew, you're right, it tastes like soap."

He rolled onto his stomach and rested his chin on his arms. "I have a question for you."

"What is it?" She asked, mirroring him then scooting back a few inches so they did not have to look at each other cross-eyed.

"Why does your chakra have two people in it?"

Kushina broke eye contact and picked at a crack in the wooden floor. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious. It's different and I feel like I've seen it before but I don't know where. Why else would I ask?"

"So you can be mean to me."

"What?" Minato answered, not expecting her response. "But Uzumaki-san, why would I be mean to you? You're nice to me and you have pretty hair and you listen to what I say. You're being silly and hurtful by saying I'd do something like that."

"But if I tell you, you will be mean to me!"

"No I won't! I pinky promise!" Minato held out his little finger.

Kushina linked her little finger with his. "Cross your heart?"

"Cross my heart," Minato stood up and slammed a fist over his heart, raising his right hand solemnly, "And hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, wait a moment, I spoke a lie, I never really wanted to die. I won't break my word to you. But if by chance I somehow slip, careless words tumbling from my lips, if this solemn vow I break, then no more breaths shall I take. Thus you know I do not lie, for I am not prepared to die." **

Kushina smiled and a small chuckle escaped her throat as Minato laid back down across from her. She stared intently at the crack on the floor, picking at the small, non-existent particles of dirt. "Remember how I told you those mean ninjas kidnapped me because I had special chakra?"

Minato nodded.

"Well, my chakra is special because it's really good at holding back the tailed beasts."

Minato nodded again, slightly confused, but Kushina refused to look at him.

"I used to live in Uzushiogakure, a part of the former Uzu no Kuni. The Uzumaki clan was really powerful, especially in sealing. We also live a really long time and the village was nicknamed 'The Village of Longevity' because of it. The land and most of my clan was destroyed shortly after I came to Konoha. Since I'm one of the few people left I have to carry on a tradition Grandma Mito started. She's wasn't really my grandma but since I don't remember my real grandma I call her that."

Minato's mouth twitched into a brief smile as he noticed her rambling.

"Do you know who Uzumaki Mito was?" She asked, glancing up to see Minato shake his head before refocusing on the crack. "She was really nice to me and taught me a lot of stuff especially about sealing. A really long time ago, she was married to Senju Hashirama, the first Hokage but he died during the first giant war after Konoha was founded. Grandma Mito was really, really old and she told lots of funny and awesome stories about Grandpa Hashirama. Before the giant war, Grandpa Hashirama fought this guy called Uchiha Madara. He could summon the most powerful of the tailed beasts, the Kyuubi. In order to make sure Grandpa Hashirama would win, Grandma Mito used an epic seal to put the Kyuubi inside of herself so Madara couldn't use it to destroy the village."

"Didn't Uchiha Madara help found the village? Why would he want to destroy it?"

"I don't know; she didn't tell me that part of the story. Anyways, Grandma Mito sealed the Kyuubi inside of herself and Grandpa Hashirama won the battle. A long, long time later Grandma Mito got really old and they had to find someone else to keep the Kyuubi sealed. That's me now," Kushina finished simply.

Minato studied her, unsure of how to react to her story.

She looked up, worry and fear etched across her face. "You think I'm a monster, don't you?"

"No! That's not true and you know it!" Minato shouted, slapping his hand against the floor.

Kushina jumped, and mirrored Minato as he sat up and crossed his legs. "Yeah, but how do _you_ know it?"

"Do you act like the Kyuubi?"

"No, but—"

"Do you look like the Kyuubi?"

"Of course not, but—"

"Do you think like the Kyuubi?"

"No, but—"

"Are you anything like the Kyuubi?"

"No, but—"

"Then you're not a monster!" Minato reasoned.

"But the Kyuubi is inside of me!" Kushina choked, rubbing away the tears burning in her eyes.

Minato leaned forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. Kushina stopped crying in surprise. Her hands trembled on either side of her face as Minato murmured in her ear. "You're not the Kyuubi. You're not anything like it. You're Uzumaki Kushina, remember? You're the girl who's going to be the first female Hokage."

Kushina let her head drop onto Minato's shoulder, her fingers holding tight to Minato's jacket, pulling him closer. Minato's strong grasp helped steady her ragged gasps. After a long second, she nodded.

"See? I'm not gonna be mean to you or think you're anyone but the Uzumaki Kushina. I'll make up a new and even better promise if that's what it takes!"

Her stomach growled, interrupting the comfortable silence. Minato pulled away with a wide smile. Kushina held tight to him for an instant longer before allowing him to pull away.

"Come on, I'm sure they'll be something for you to eat in the kitchen." Minato held out a hand to pull her to her feet. She frowned and accepted it, while Minato's attention turned towards the door. He pulled her out of the door, running, though not as recklessly as she dragged him along the day before.

Kushina's eyes widened as the Hokage stepped into their path again and Minato did not see him, crashing full-on into the man and dragging Kushina along behind him. They both collided with him, forcing the man to step back in surprise, but with enough wits to catch them both by the collar.

"That's it! I'm not going to have little heads running into me every time I try and walk through my own house," the Hokage wheezed, the wind knocked out of him. "No running inside from now on." He ordered, carrying the two into the kitchen like poorly behaved puppies. In the same moment, the two Genin tucked their hands under their chins, pulled their knees to the chests, and looked up at the Hokage with wide, pleading eyes. Kushina completed the act by whimpering slightly. While their expressions quickly melted the Hokage's hard demeanor, Biwako rapped the two over the head, tapped Hiruzen on the forehead, and pointed sharply towards the table where the four breakfasts lay. The Hokage dutifully dropped them in the two in chairs beside each other and Biwako sat down opposite of them, watching them sternly.

"Now, eat you two." Biwako watched them shovel food down their throats in fear. The two adults exchanged a worried glance as the noticed Minato tipping his food onto Kushina's plate. Biwako looked towards Hiruzen, opening her mouth to say something but he shook his head sharply. When both children's plates cleared, the two stood up and started to hurry out the door, balancing on the thin line between walking and running. In a quick shunshin, Hiruzen caught Minato by the collar. Kushina took two steps before stopping abruptly.

"Go wait outside, Kushina-chan. I have to talk to Minato-kun for a minute." Hiruzen's tone ordered her out of the room, but she took one look at Minato's worried and confused face and marched into the Hokage's face.

"No!" She stamped her foot. "You let him go!"

Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed by her insolence. "He's not in trouble, Kushina-chan." Hiruzen responded, allowing his impatience to color his voice.

The girl's lip trembled slightly before she obeyed, stomping her way out of the room and slamming the door.

Marching Minato back to the table, Hiruzen replaced the food Minato pushed off his plate and onto Kushina's setting it down in front of the boy. "I saw you pushing food onto Kushina's plate. You may leave when you finish that. Kushina is going to come in here shortly, so you better hurry."

Minato ate quickly under Biwako's careful eye, slamming down his chopsticks and racing from the table. Hiruzen caught the tail of his jacket again and turned him away from the door.

"Go get your shoes." Minato refused to meet Hiruzen's eye as he raced down the hallway, grabbed his shoes and raced out the front door before slipping them on.

"Why didn't he eat?" Biwako asked softly as the two children raced away from the house, laughing.

"I don't know why, but I didn't think the problem was so bad he'd resort to subterfuge. Sakumo's been lucky to force one meal down the boy's throat every day."

"How long has that been going on?"

"As far as I can tell: his entire life. His parents could get him to do anything with a few words, but if anyone else tries to do the same, it's useless. He knows exactly how far he can push the line when it comes to his wellbeing and he walks it."

"That doesn't make sense, no child is capable of doing something like that to themselves. Most trained shinobi can't even do that."

"I'm not sure if it's conscious."

"Except for the total disregard for his health, he isn't showing any other signs of an underlying problem."

"I'll talk to Sakumo again. He knows the boy best."

"And if you can't figure out the problem?"

"I don't know. Hopefully, the two just need each other."

 _**adapted from a post on by Kristen Burns-Darling and the early 1900s religious oath. Words were cut/changed to shorten and properly apply to context and character. The citation is below._

 _Burns-Darling, Kristen. "Re: Finish off the Poem... I Cross My Heart and Hope to Die Stick a Needle in My Eye..." Web log comment. Hubpages. com. Erica Sanchez (bellawritter23), 2011. Web. 25 May 2015._


	19. Chapter 19

**Lessons Part 3**

 _While Kushina has massive reserves of chakra, her body can only use a fraction of it before she gets tired. Minato unconsciously takes tiny amounts of chakra from the people around him and the chakra he takes from Kushina makes him able to utilize her seals. Neither knows that this is what actually happens; they just know it works. While Minato has massive stores of chakra because of what he takes from others, he is in the same position as Kushina and can only use part of his reserves before his body is exhausted. Since he is unfamiliar with sealing, Minato used more chakra than he needed to activate the seals._

 **(MINATO)**

"Slow down!" Kushina called after him as he ran down the street. Minato slowed enough for her to catch up before grabbing her hand and continuing even faster before ducking into the forest ringing the village. "What did Jiji want?" Kushina asked as he slowed to a stop and flopped onto the ground.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Kushina looked down at him, slightly annoyed then flopped onto her stomach beside him, laying her head on his chest, her ear a few inches away from his heart, listening to is erratic rhythm smooth out.

"Okay, you mentioned that you were interested in Fūinjutsu. Do you still want to learn?"

"Would you teach me?" Minato asked eagerly.

"Only if you help me with something else and call me Kushina."

"Okay, Kushina-san, what am I helping you with?"

"We're going to prank the village!"

"The entire village?"

"Well, as much of it as we can."

"How?"

"You'll see. Come on," Kushina sat up quickly and tugged Minato closer to the walls of the village.

"You're really good at manipulating chakra, right?"

"It practically the only thing I can do."

"Good. Lesson three is activating seals." Kushina pulled four seals out of nowhere and placed them in Minato's hand. "We are going to put these on the wall at each of the ordinal directions."

"Why the ordinal directions rather than the cardinal directions?"

"Because the Hokage Monument is in the way. The seals have to go on the walls themselves. I don't want to affect the Hokage monument too."

"What are going to be doing to the walls again?"

"Turning them invisible." Kushina answered promptly.

"I think we can get in a lot of trouble for that."

"We aren't damaging them in any way, the seals will wear off in a few minutes, but it'll give everyone a good scare."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Well, I can't do this without you and you're not going to learn anything if you don't help. Your choice, if we get caught, which we won't, I'm going to end up taking the fall anyways because no one will think Mr. Blond Shadow did anything shady. You have nothing to worry about."

"Fine, what am I supposed to do?"

"The Konoha Stadium is the closest to the center of the village you can get. You're going to sit there and look pretty while keeping your chakra in contact with the seals. I'll place them and we'll keep in contact with these." Kushina passed two miniscule seals back to Minato.

"And what are they?"

"Communication seals."

"How do they work?"

Kushina skidded to a stop, Minato nearly slammed into her before he regained his balance. "You're going to keep asking questions, aren't you? They're communication seals. One goes inside your ear, which is why it's so small and the other goes somewhere you can talk into. They're my design and I'm not going to share them with anyone else. Mostly because they're attuned perfectly to my chakra signature and I don't know how, but yours can fit it almost perfectly even though it should only work for me. That's a good thing right now."

Kushina shifted to sit on Minato's left side and pressed the paper into Minato's ear, using the thin tip of a sealing pen to press the paper flat against the inside of Minato's ear. She pressed a second seal into Minato's hand alongside the sealing pen.

"Put this in my ear." She ordered before launching into the second part of the explanation. "The distance these will reach is dependent on the amount of chakra we have. Your reserves are massive, even compared to mine before I got the you-know-what. Since you have impossibly good control, our range is about even. I estimate it to be approximately twice the diameter of Konoha, but it might be longer. It's the longest communication device in existence as far as I can tell as long as the two of us are working it. It probably could be more if we get some of the Jōnin with more chakra and better control than us, but that means I'll have to rewrite the seal to be compatible with their chakra and I don't have the patience for that. It's hard enough to make it work when I use the blood sealing style. I don't like to use anything else because it's not very effective without some crazy advanced knowledge that is only useful in deactivating someone else's seals."

Minato pulled away, finished pressing the paper flat against the inside of her ear. Kushina proceeded to pull out a scroll from seemingly nowhere.

"Kunai," she held out her hand.

"Why?" Minato asked warily as he pulled one out.

Kushina twirled it around her finger then used it to cut a square off the scroll and the scroll disappeared, replaced with a jar of ink. Kushina unscrewed the cap and dipped the pen in it, carefully drawing a perfect circle, a spiral and a diamond in the center of the page, handing back Minato's kunai with her free hand. "Lesson two: bases. There are three types of bases. Every single seal uses one of the three bases; there's the spiral, which is my favorite, the compass, which is what you'll be using, and the circle, which is what everyone who can use an explosive tag knows. I'm not even going to bother teaching you that one. It's too simple and weak. For the communication seal, I used a spiral." Kushina pointed at the spiral that looked like the Uzumaki clan symbol. "The base is what keeps the seal intact. Are you following so far?"

"Three bases, spiral, compass, and circle. Circle is weak and common, you use the spiral, I'm guessing it's the strongest, while the compass falls somewhere in the middle. Bases make sure the seal stays together." Minato recited.

"Almost. Compass and spiral both depend on the amount of chakra pushed into the seal. Circles are useless, at least when it comes to any real sealing."

"Got it."

"Good. Now, for the communication seal I used Kanji to place the seal's purpose in the center. When making a seal, it's easier to be as vague as possible." Kushina drew the Kanji for 'hear' and 'talk' in the center of the spiral. "Now this is the complicated part. Even though everyone says it's impossible, you can make a seal work with only the base and the Kanji, but it's harder than performing a jutsu. I've done it before with a seal but it was really hard and really not worth it. It's easier to learn the squiggles that control the seal." Kushina's hand danced over the page drawing odd lines, which meant absolutely nothing to Minato, around the seal.

"So what do all of the squiggles mean?"

"I have no idea. That's lesson one and I slept through it. I just know what they do so I named them myself. There are thousands so you'll have to memorize them. I'm not going to try and teach them all to you. A book is better than a lecture at this point. Do you have neat handwriting by the way?"

"No."

Kushina giggled. "I told them I wasn't the only person with bad handwriting. We'll have to fix that, but not now." She bounced in her seat, squealing even more

"So what are we going to do?"

"Unsealing is an entirely different story, but no one can activate another's seals, but it's like your chakra is perfect for sealing, I want to see if you can activate my seals!"

"But people buy and use explosive tags all the time. You're not making sense again, Kushina-san."

"Because explosive tags have circle bases!"

"Kushina-san!" Minato complained.

"Okay fine. Circle bases are the only bases that can be used by anyone. That's another reason I don't like them. I'll show you later. Now touch the seal in my ear and the seal in your ear at the same time and channel a little bit of chakra into it."

Minato obeyed.

"That's enough. Do you think it worked?"

The two flinched as they felt the effect of the seals. "It's like I'm hearing the exact same thing from two different places."

Kushina's grin widened. "It worked!" She screamed, making them both flinch at the volume before tackling Minato in a hug. "We'll have to try it over distance but for close range, we don't even need the talk seals."

"But it can do a lot more than that."

"What're you talking about?"

Minato pushed her off and sat up on his knees. "Close your eyes and listen. I'll throw a kunai at one of the trees and you try and retrieve it by sound only."

Kushina did so, stumbling slightly over the leaves.

"See? It's easier and more accurate to hear things from two different perspectives."

When Kushina grinned evilly, Minato leaned back warily. "What if we could incorporate this into a fight?"

Their eyes unfocused, thinking through the possibilities. Suddenly Minato straightened sharply. "Quick! Hide all the seals, my sensei's coming!" He hissed.

"Should we run?" Kushina asked as it all vanished, replaced with a scroll of Taijutsu katas.

"No, he's already found me. I was supposed to be at training ages ago."

"Yes you were," Jiraiya said, the anger in his voice making the two genin shoot to their feet only to quail away. "So what exactly is more important than my training?"

He held up the Taijutsu scroll Kushina brought out.

"You're training by yourselves?"

They nodded quickly.

"Can you do any of these katas?"

"Not yet," Minato mumbled.

"If the two of you think your training is so much more important than training with your Genin teams," Jiraiya sneered.

Kushina gasped when she noticed Biwako standing a few feet behind Jiraiya.

"Then we'll see how far your self-training has come while your teams have been doing their real training," Biwako finished.

The two flinched and followed their senseis. Minato pulled out a scrap of paper and a pencil, scribbling a few lines before handing it to Kushina. _It amplifies our hearing too._

She frowned and stuffed the paper in her pocket.

"You sure you want to pit the two of them against their teammates?" Jiraiya asked. Normally, their voices would be too low to catch, but with the seals, the Genin could faintly hear them. They looked at each other in fear and surprise. "It'll be four against two and maybe Kushina-chan is better, but Minato-kun's the worst on the team when he's not overwhelming the other two with speed."

"Kushina-chan only cares about her sealing, this'll be a lesson for them to follow orders."

"That's not fair!" Kushina said under her breath.

"We really did mess up," Minato responded.

"They could've just scolded us."

"Think about their faces when we win though."

"Now _you're_ not making sense," Kushina complained.

"You have your seals, right?"

"Of course."

"What's the hardest part about fighting with seals?"

"Drawing them and then activating them."

"You draw the seals; then all we have to do is place them. I can activate them from a distance."

Kushina's head hung in dejection. "I can't even touch my teammates in Taijutsu, how am I supposed to place the seals?"

"I can't always get through their defenses either," Minato admitted.

They walked in silence for a few steps.

"What if I distract their hits, you place the seals, and then we disengage while I activate the seals?"

"It's four against two, five if you count the Inuzuka's dog."

Minato frowned. "And we have to deal with the Nara's shadows."

"A distraction and we can neutralize the shadows. I have a chakra-binding seal."

"How many do you have?"

"A bunch."

"Do you have anything that will knock them out?"

"No, but I know a seal that will!"

"How fast can you make five of them? We can use those instead."

"Before we get there."

"Do that now."

While Kushina pulled out the scroll and her pen, she pointed out the flaw in Minato's plan. "What happens when they figure out our strategy?"

"I don't know."

"How many Bunshin can you make?"

"A lot." Kushina grabbed Minato's hand and held it up. "I'm going to make blood seals. It'll be easier to use your blood." She cut into the heel of Minato's hand so the blood flowed into the cup of his palm.

Minato continued through the interruption, wincing slightly at the pain. "Make a bunch and henge half of them into me. They'll spread out and distract from what we're really doing."

"What if they come at us all at once?"

"They won't. I know my team; they'll try and trap us before overwhelming us. We only have to stay out of their traps and that's easy."

"What if the Hyuuga sees our strategy and goes after me because I'm placing the seals?"

"Then I'll place the seal while you distract him."

Kushina handed Minato the seal, his blood still wet on the page.

"In order for them not to notice that we're using seals, can you burn the paper as soon as the seal takes effect?"

"That's easy."

"Good."

A moment later, Kushina finished the second seal.

Minato used chakra to stick it to his arm, careful not to channel any chakra into the seal itself. The papers measured six centimeters on each side.

Kushina stuck one on his forehead, which he protested softly but Kushina only giggled, appearing slightly demented with the blood on her hands, and smeared across face when she swiped her hair out of her eyes.

When Jiraiya started to turn around to make sure they were still following, Minato used a slight bit of chakra to pull the kunai out of Kushina's grasp and used the excuse to turn around and hide the seals, making Kushina turn too. With the distraction, Kushina only finished four of the seals by the time they arrived at the training ground and had to hide their preparations. Both of their teams glared at the two in annoyance.

"You four will be fighting these two," Biwako announced when they all gathered. "You have two minutes to figure out your strategies."

The troublemakers convincingly faked the appropriate fear and surprise. If there was one thing they were better at than their teammates, excluding their disproportionate skills in certain areas, it was acting.

"Time starts now," Jiraiya snapped. The teams raced a fair distance away and Minato shielded Kushina while she finished her last seal. They both listened intently to the other team's plans, inwardly celebrating Kushina's seals.

Their grins widened as they murmured out the slight alterations to their own plans.

"Time's up!" Biwako interrupted them while the two divvied up the seals they needed. When they did not start moving towards the others, Jiraiya shunshined to them and dragged them over as the last seals disappeared into their pockets.

They grinned at each other, nervousness forgotten at the unfair matchup. While the other four matched their grins, the two senseis exchanged looks of unease.

"Begin," Biwako stated. Before the word faded, Minato and Kushina brought their hands together in the seal for Bunshin and twenty of each individual appeared surrounding them and leaping towards the other four, separating them. Minato rushed towards their first target, Nara Taja. She immediately trapped Minato in her shadow jutsu, opening her mouth the shout to the others when Kushina slapped the knockout seal on her back, disrupting the jutsu and allowing Minato time to activate the seal a moment before Kushina burned the paper away.

"Taja's down!" Fugaku shouted rushing towards the Bunshin Kushina replaced herself with.

"Byakugan!" Hyuuga Tarou yelled to see the real Minato rushing towards him, Kushina at his elbow. He dodged their first attack, panicking slightly as they separated. Tarou mistakenly turned towards Kushina first, blocking chakra in her arm when he felt Minato's hand touch his back. Before he could turn and attack Minato, the blond activated the seal and Kushina burned the paper away. An instant later, the Bunshins dispersed and they faced off against the trio on the opposite side of the field.

Minato touched Kushina's shoulder and reestablished the chakra flow in her arm. The trio raced forward to meet two handfuls of smoke bombs. Minato and Kushina whooped and laughed to keep their bearings in the smoke. Minato appeared in front of Fugaku, who swung an arm at Minato. It collided with the blond's head, but failed to cut off his laughing as Kushina placed the knockout seal on his shoulder. Everyone stumbled out of the smoke and Minato activated the seal while Kushina burned it away. The two stopped laughing, exhausted, as the last two opponents growled as them. Minato spared a glance at the two senseis who appeared genuinely surprised.

"I don't think our previous strategy is going to work anymore," Minato noted.

"I think we're doomed," Kushina whined.

"Well, let's at least try and hope he didn't catch on."

"We each have one left, right?"

"Yep."

"Well, let's hope for a lucky hit," Minato sighed, turning to press his back against Kushina's, carefully watching the half-transformed Inuzuka and his dog circle. When their opponents lunged, Minato and Kushina leapt into the air as one, turned towards each other, pushing themselves apart with more than a little surprise at their identical thinking, and flipping behind each of the Inuzuka, slapping the seals on their backs before they could properly turn. Both received a sharp elbow in their gut, flying away, but activating the seals and burning away the paper at the same time. The Inuzuka duo collapsed as Minato and Kushina landed roughly on the ground, and slowly pushing themselves to their feet.

"That was the best display of teamwork I've seen in awhile," Jiraiya commented as the Genin stumbled towards their senseis. "Now how did you knock them out? Neither of you were touching anyone when it happened nor made any hand seals. I want to say it was an explosive tag, but such a weak one wouldn't be able to do that."

"Wouldn't you want to know?" Minato responded cheekily as he and Kushina leaned against each other for support, arms around each other's shoulders.

Jiraiya looked at Kushina.

"I'm not gonna tell," she answered. "You're madder at us now than before because we ruined your lesson so I see no reason to reward you when you're just gonna punish us more anyways."

"How long have you two been training together?" Biwako demanded, attempting to piece together times they could have met.

"We haven't," Kushina replied. A heartbeat later, they collapsed, leaving the senseis too surprised to catch them.

"Now imagine if they'd actually been working together for longer," Minato heard Jiraiya comment weakly before the communication seals failed and the Genin lost themselves in unconsciousness.


	20. Chapter 20

**Lessons Part 4**

 **(MINATO)**

Minato woke in his bed at the Hatake compound, Sakumo sitting beside him in a white shirt, reading.

Without looking up, Sakumo said, "Imagine my surprise when I come home from a mission last night to find you and your girlfriend covered in blood and dirt, lying just inside the front door."

"What?"

"And imagine what I thought when I read the note taped to your forehead in the Hokage's handwriting." Sakumo handed the note to Minato.

 _You can deal with this duo when they wake up. Do not allow either of them within sight of any seals or sealing equipment._

"How much trouble could the two of you possibly get into that would make the Hokage exasperated enough to ban you from sealing for the time being and dump you on me until he can properly prevent himself from skinning you on the spot?"

Minato grinned uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head, glancing over nervously at the redhead sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed.

Sakumo sighed. "Go take a shower and change."

Minato quickly slid out of the bed and raced towards the bathroom. After he showered and changed, he collided with Kushina outside the door. They smiled awkwardly at each other.

"I don't care what the Hokage says. We're gonna be the two best Fūinjutsu users in the world and the greatest tag-team ever!"

"Pinky promise?" Minato asked, his smile widening and holding out his little finger.

"Double pinky promise," Kushina confirmed, and they both linked their fingers. "Now we just gotta finish that prank."


	21. Chapter 21

**C-rank**

 _Death of Minato and Fugaku's Genin teammate_

 **(-)**

Minato and Fugaku hurried down the road to catch up with their sensei, eager for their first C-rank mission: delivering an important scroll to a nearby village. Behind them, slightly slower, ran a short girl. She had dark black hair tied up on top of her head, a round, gentle face, and dark eyes narrowed in concentration. Shadows leapt from the ground and entangled the boys' legs, just before they reached their finish line. Both sprawled flat on their faces as they fell to the ground, and she breezed past them to cross first. She turned around and released the jutsu on both boys as they stared up at her in surprise, their mouths wide open.

"I forgot how nice it was to be underestimated for once." She told them in her soft voice. She swatted hair out of her face then yanked out the ribbon that tied it back and redid her hair, showing off the hitai-ate tied around her left bicep, which kept slipping down to her elbow. As she finished the knot in her black hair ribbon, she turned her back sharply on the boys, her dark green skirt twirling around only to run straight into their new sensei, Jiraiya.

"There is no need to use any jutsus on your teammates when you're not training, Taja-chan," Jiraiya scolded. "Get up you two and let's go."

Taja looked down at them. "There's no need to rush," She grumbled and turned around the catch up with their sensei.

Jiraiya glanced down as she fell in step beside him. The boys were sulking behind her. "You should—" He began.

Minato interrupted with a strangled warning. Taja spun around and froze. A shinobi stood behind Minato, a garrote wrapped around his neck, strangling him. Taja froze. Minato used a kunai to cut the line around his neck and spun around to slice at his attacker. He nicked the assailant's hand. Blood dripped to the ground. Taja fell to her knees, feeling sick. Her sensei had gone off to fight his own battle and an older shinobi had turned to face her. She felt sick inside. There was a cut above his eye, dribbling blood down half his face. Taja tried to force herself to move but the sight of even more blood made her muscles go completely slack. The shinobi lunged forward to kill her with a short, bloodstained sword. She could not move. When the blade was mere inches away from slicing her head off, her sensei had knocked it away with a well-aimed kunai that went through the assailant's wrist. As a few drops of blood hit her face, she lurched backward and stumbled away from the fighting.

"Minato! Fugaku! Help your teammate!" Jiraiya shouted. The two boys retreated from their battles and raced toward Taja.

"NO!" Minato shouted moments before Taja felt something strike her back and produce an awful crunch. Something warm and wet ran down her back. She felt herself falling forward, she tried to take a step forward to balance herself, but she could not feel her legs. She tried to catch her face-first fall with her arms, which would not move either. She could not feel anything; she blinked and opened her eyes to see Minato and Fugaku leaning over her looking terrified. Fugaku's eyes turned red and the dark tomoe swirled: the Sharringan. She could not close her eyes, even though everything was dark around the edges. The dark grew rapidly. Faintly, she heard her name as Minato's hands began to glow with healing chakra.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. The black spread over her vision, slowly and steadily. She saw her sensei lean over her before everything was gone with one long sigh.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chuunin Exams Part 1**

 _Minato and Kushina's first Chuunin exams. Minato just turned 12 and Kushina is almost 12._

 **(-)**

"I don't feel comfortable sending the two of you to Iwa. Our relationship with them is strained to say the least," The Hokage rubbed his forehead.

"Everyone who graduated with us has been promoted!" Minato protested.

"That doesn't mean you're ready to survive in the Iwa Chuunin exams. If I remember properly, the two of you were among the worst in your class."

"Hey!" Kushina exclaimed. "We're as good at sealing as you and Minato can win half the races against Jōnin!"

"Jiraiya, what do you think?"

"I'm not getting involved in this. I'm only here because I lost a bet with Minato."

"Hey!" The two Genin protested.

"Fine! I tested them myself. They'll survive the exams even if I'm not sure about a promotion. Neither have an ace up their sleeve."

"Isn't the fact that no one knows about it the very definition of an ace?" Kushina muttered to Minato.

The Hokage rubbed his temples in exasperation. "Who is going to be your third teammate?"

Minato shrugged. "I read the rules, it said the competitors had to enter in teams no larger than three. It didn't say there had to be three."

"You're going to allow this Jiraiya?"

"If the two gaki want to get themselves killed, so be it. Less people trying to trick me into things."

The Hokage threw a blank scroll at him the exact same second the two Genin threw punches at him. Throwing himself flat on his back to avoid all three, he kicked out at blinding speed and knocked the legs out from under Minato and Kushina. Minato nearly managed to jump over his leg but Jiraiya caught his toes on his shin and Minato barely managed to catch himself on the ground.

"Enough!" The Hokage snapped as they all leapt to their feet. "You can go to the exams. If you cause one spot of trouble, Jiraiya will bring you straight home. Understand?"

"Why do I have to bring them?"

"On second thought, I'll find another Jōnin to be your sensei while Jiraiya spends the two months you'll be gone doing D-ranks."

"I would love to take them to Iwa!" Jiraiya backtracked.

"Too late. All of you, out of my office!"

They all scrambled out of the room.

The second the door closed behind them, Minato and Kushina slapped each other high-fives.

"Speak for yourself," Jiraiya grumbled as he shunshined out of the tower.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chuunin Exams Part 2**

 _The next day_

 **(-)**

"I wonder which Jōnin Jiji will assign us," Kushina wondered as they sat on a bench near the gates. "Who do you think it will be?"

"Either Biwako-san or Sakumo-san."

"Why them?"

"Because none of the other Jōnin will take the mission and he won't try and force anyone he doesn't know. It might be Orochimaru-san or Tsunade-sama, but I'm not sure either of them will do it unless blackmail or bribery is involved."

"You're so serious about it."

"You're the one who asked!"

"I am not putting up with your bickering all the way to Iwa," someone hissed from behind them.

"Oro-chan!" Kushina spun around and tried to hug him.

Orochimaru dodged and grabbed her by the ankle, keeping the girl upside down at arm's length, continuing in monotone. "It's 'sensei' from now on."

"How did you sneak up on me?" Minato demanded.

"Are you really so arrogant to think no one can sneak up on you?" Orochimaru answered, expressionless. "There's always going to be someone better than you, kid, expect it. I'm leaving. Keep up." He dropped Kushina on her hands and left at a brisk walk.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Kushina called out. Orochimaru turned around and started at her neutrally. "Are you going to be our Jōnin sensei for the trip?"

"Why else would I be here?"

"To torment yourself?"

"Come on, Kushina, let's go."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chuunin Exams Part 3**

 _Just before the Iwa border._

 **(-)**

"Please please please please please please—"

"If you don't be quite, Kushina, I will personally extract your vocal chords and destroy them."

"But Oro-chan—"

"Minato, if you don't wipe that expression off your face this instant, I'll rip your jaw off."

"Oro-chan! Oro-chan! Do you have a girlfriend?"

Orochimaru slapped the back of Kushina's head.

"I guess not if you're so grumpy about it. Do you have a boyfriend then?"

"How did I get stuck with you?"

"Because your skill set will be most beneficial in helping us train should we reach the third round," Minato answered.

"Right, you think you're impressing me when you act like a smart-ass?"

"No, I'm trying to annoy you. It's working."

"Why do you want to annoy me?"

"We have a reputation to uphold," Kushina responded cheerfully.

"I'll tell them you annoyed me out of my skin if you just stop!" Orochimaru finally cracked.

"Fine!" Kushina huffed and sat down abruptly. Both males turned around to face her, baffled. "If we stop pestering you, will you teach us stuff?"

"I do my job, Kushina, I was going to teach you anyways."

"Really?"

"What kind of shinobi do you think I am?"

"A normal one," Minato answered.

Orochimaru rubbed his eyes, exasperated. "Let's stop here and you tell me all of the jutsus you know. We'll talk about Fūinjutsu and test your Taijutsu later."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chuunin Exams Part 4**

 _The first exam._

 **(-)**

"Minato is not your personal pillow, Kushina, now get up, both of you or you'll be late for your first exam."

"At least someone agrees with me. What is the exam?" Minato mumbled.

"Some sort of information gathering. It changes at every exam."

Kushina stubbornly held tight to her teammate. "Just five more minutes."

"What kind of information gathering?" Minato asked.

"I don't know," Orochimaru answered. "Kushina, get up, now before I send you to the exams in your underwear!"

Kushina squeaked and let go of Minato. Orochimaru offered a hand up to the boy and Minato took it. "I will help you when you start acting like a normal person," Orochimaru answered Kushina's indignant look.

"You're just trying to up being mean! You're playing favorites, I'm going to tell."

"Tell who? The exam proctors?" Orochimaru responding cheekily.

Minato reached down to help her up. "So what's the plan Orochimaru-sensei?"

"I'm already a Jōnin. The two of you want to become Chuunin, so figure it out yourself. You have five minutes before you need to leave. I will walk you to the first exam, but after that, you will be on your own until you finish the second exam. Any questions?"

The two shook their heads as they straightened their clothes and checked their equipment pouches. The two Genin walked in silence with their heads down, avoiding the mistrustful looks sent their way from the civilians.

They didn't look up until Orochimaru stopped in front of a tall, school-styled building.

Orochimaru bent down to their level. "Be confident in your skills and answers. Both of you are far cleverer and more talented than anyone gives you credit. You may not be geniuses in everything, but in what you do know, you're better than any Genin I've ever met. This won't be a cakewalk for you, so don't get cocky when something goes your way. There's always going to be someone better than you, so don't let your guard down." Orochimaru put a hand on each of their shoulders, turned them around and pushed them towards the doors without another word.

"Two-man teams on the fifth floor, three-man teams on the fourth," a bored Chuunin droned and gestured towards the stairs, not even bothering to look up from his paperwork.

On the second floor, they both stopped, staring at the sign telling the two-man teams to enter. "Signs can be changed much easier than people," Minato pointed out. "Besides, there is only one Chakra signature on this floor and quite a few on higher floors."

Kushina nodded in agreement and they continued to climb the stone steps to the fifth floor. "Cutting it close, you two. There were ten seconds left before we closed the doors," the Chuunin proctor commented good-naturedly.

"Shinobi arrive precisely on time, Chuunin-san."

"Correct. For soft Konoha Nin, you're rather smart. Now let's see if you're as tough as your brains are sharp." The Chuunin turned to include everyone, "Your partner is your lifeline. On a mission, they are the only people you can trust. At the same time, they are trusting you." He paused to let his words sink in. "If your team was not given a white strip of cloth since you've arrived here, stand with your backs the wall opposite the door. If your team received a white cloth, stand on that white line facing everyone else.

The Genin hurried to obey, only now noticing the white that stretched across the room a few feet from the door.

"Names have immense power. Knowing someone's name is the key to knowing someone's life. A few well-placed questions and you can deduce someone's entire life story. When you're on a mission, your name and your anonymity are your greatest defense. They're your partner's defense. If you received a white cloth, you've already sold out yourself or your teammate. Get out of this room." Once the noise died down, less than half the room remained. "Now for the real test. You will spend five minutes with a Chuunin proctor outside of this room. He or she will interrogate you and trick you into giving your name. If the proctor succeeds, you fail. If you outlast the time, you pass. If one of your teammates get the proctor's name, time is automatically over and you will receive an advantage on the next test. You must respond truthfully to all questions, with words not grunting or anything else, the same goes for the proctor. Those who arrived first will go last, those who arrived last will go first. Any questions?"

"What if both teammates get the proctor's name?" Minato asked curiously.

"You'll have set a record."

"I bet I can get a name faster than you!" Minato smirked at Kushina.

"I am not racing you in anything, ever again."

"Enough, blond boy, you're first, with me."

As soon as the door closed behind them, Minato turned to the proctor. "I'm Sato Haruki, what's your name?" he held out his hand politely.

"Harada Ryuto," he responded and shook Minato's hand. A second later, he stiffened. "You've got some nerve, kid, I'm guessing that wasn't your real name. Maybe you do have a chance at becoming Chuunin. It took you six seconds. Wait in the room right there for the next exam."

Minato entered a room with rows of chairs facing the door. He sat down in the chair closest to the door to wait.

(-.-)

"Blondie's teammate, the redhead with the tomato face, you're with me," a second proctor called out exactly a minute after Minato left.

"I do not have a tomato face!" She replied hotly and stalked out the door. As soon as the door closed, she began berating the proctor over the offense. He rolled his eyes and motioned the direction for her to go. "You know what, I'm going to report you for being rude to the competitors! What's your name and registration number?" Kushina swung around and glared at him.

The Chuunin's back straightened under her glare. "Miura Haruma, number four-four-eight-six-three-five-two-seven."

Kushina smirked as the Chuunin blanched. "Forty-one seconds since you closed the door. Did I beat my teammate's time?"

"No," Minato's examiner emerged from the room where he told Minato to wait. "I can see that the both of you can talk the talk, but we have yet to see if you can walk the walk. Wait in here for the other Genin to finish. The three-man teams will be joining you."

As soon as the Chuunin left, Kushina rounded on her teammate. "What was your time?" She demanded.

"Six seconds," he answered smugly. "Yours?"

"Forty-one. I'm glad I didn't take that bet."

"You never take my bets."

"Is there anyone else here for me to bother?"

"Why can't you look for yourself?"

"Because you've already done it."

"Fine, there's two camera and a microphone. They can hear and see us."

"Nobody in the room?"

"Besides us?"

"Of course!"

"No one's here."

"Bummer." Kushina sat down on the floor in front of Minato and leaned against his knees.

"There are plenty of seats for you here."

"I could sit on top of you, but I don't think you'd appreciate it."

"I don't appreciate you sitting in front of my feet either."

"Since when have I cared?"

The door opening interrupted Minato's answer. A three-man team entered cautiously. "What was your test about?" Minato asked instead of answering Kushina.

"Wouldn't you want to know?" One of them responded defensively.

"We do know, just trying to make conversation," Kushina shrugged and started to play with the straps on Minato's sandals.

"Cut that out!" He snapped and pushed her away

"I'm bored!"

"It's been less than five minutes since we got here."

"I'm still bored. Hey do you want to try that thing the civilians like to do?"

"Why don't you teach it to one of them?"

"Because they're being grumpy."

"I'm being grumpy."

"You don't count."

"Fine, you mess up first and you have to sit quiet and still until the next exam."

"If you mess up, you have to entertain me."

"Fine."

"Fine."

The three-man team fell into chairs in the back of the room. Minato and Kushina stood up and pushed some of the chairs back to make room.

"Ready?" Kushina asked as they faced off. The other team watched them with interest.

"Go."

They tapped the inside of their right feet together, tapped their left, and then stepped forward, past each other to tap the outside of their right feet. Another step forward and they tapped their left heels together before reversing until they were back to where they started and mirroring their first motion so they ended up tapping their right heels, reversing and starting it over. At the sixth time through, they mimicked the motion with their hands, clapping whenever they touched heels. Six more repetitions, and the rhythm of their hands grew more intricate and their feet quickened. An elaborate beat grew as more Chuunin hopefuls filed into the room in twos and threes, fascinated by the fast dance. The proctors entered and were mesmerized in turn. Their bodies turned into blurs of motion as they continued to increase the pace. Their motion could have put a Genjutsu to shame. Abruptly, they ended with a loud beat, startling their audience.

Kushina grinned and tossed her hair out of her eyes. "Again?"

"Think you can do it any faster?"

"Of course, you?"

"Ready?"

"Go."

They began to repeat the entire thing.

"What is going on here?" The original proctor demanded, pushing his way through the crowd, a second Chuunin on his heels, annoyed. Minato and Kushina stopped immediately as the rest tried to rouse themselves from the trance.

"We were bored," Kushina answered innocently.

"What were you doing?"

"A game you ruined," she scowled. "You better have the next test ready."

"Sit down."

While her back was to him, Kushina rolled her eyes. Minato slapped her arm lightly in admonishment as some of the Genin snickered. They fell into their chairs and looked up expectantly.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chuunin Exams Part 5**

 _This is before Madara begins to manipulate the third Mizukage._

 **(-)**

The Chuunin who entered with him cleared his throat. "Your next test will be survival," he announced in monotone. There is a cave system outside of the village which you will be brought to. Each team will be given one of five plain metal coins, each engraved with the Kanji for one of the five primary Chakra natures. Your objective is to obtain a coin which your coin can defeat. For example, if your coin said fire, you would need to find a coin which said wind. If your coin says earth, you want to find a coin that says water. It doesn't matter how, as long as you complete your objective. You will be in the caves for three days and you will not be allowed to leave. The only rule is no killing. You will be monitored the entire time. If you do not obtain and retain your coin and the coin you need, you fail this test. Realistically, only about twelve teams will pass at maximum. There are forty teams total. To help you find the coins, each coin emits a small rhythmic chakra pulse. Good luck. Trust me, you'll need it. Follow me to the caves."

Leading them out of the village by the shortest route possible, the Chuunin walked fast enough some of the younger Genin found themselves jogging to keep up. The teams hissed strategies among themselves.

"If you can't see, you can't make seals!" Minato pointed out as soon as he made sure no one could hear.

"Are you sure the cave is going to be dark?"

"Yes."

"You can navigate in the dark pretty well, right?"

"I don't like the dark."

"Why? Scared of the monsters under your bed?"

"Not the monsters, the memories."

Kushina did not prod any further. "I could overpower that glow seal we use to work late without anyone knowing. It might not blind a Jōnin, but it'll get a Genin. You dive in and take the coin since you're the sensor."

"What about getting around?"

"No lights, but I can trust you not to run me into any walls, right?"

"Get those seals you talked about ready."

"I almost forgot to tell you, all of your belongings, save one item, will be replaced with a basic shinobi kit," the Chuunin smirked. "Don't worry, you'll get your things back as soon as the three days are over."

"What are we going to do about food?" Someone asked.

"It will be in the kit."

"Change of plans, I'll take the backup sealing kit disguised as a scroll on the theory behind the Kawarimi," Minato hissed in her ear. "We'll put all our stuff in protected scrolls so they can't go through it. I don't think we'll need anything beyond a basic kit, and sealing stuff, right?"

"Your kunai?"

"Right, can you bring one of those? Preferably one that has another sealed in the handle."

"Got it, I think the proctor is glaring at us."

"Are you two quite finished with your conversation?" The proctor asked politely.

"No, but we'll pause just for you," Kushina answered cheerfully.

"Boys, you're going to my right, girls to my left. Blondie, Redhead, and Team Thirty-One, you're staying here."

The Genin split off as they were told while the five asked to remain stood stiffly.

"Congratulations. You five have received an advantage for this round for your scores in the previous exam. You may keep all of your belongings. I hope you have food on you, because you will not be receiving any extra rations." He held out two small pouches. "These have your coins in them. We know what coins you have, so if you don't find the coin you need, you can't switch it with two others. I will return when it is time for you to enter the caves."

Each team took a pouch and backed away cautiously. While Kushina stood behind him and peeked at their coin, Minato assessed the other team. Their forehead protectors declared them to be from Kirigakure. Minato's sharp eye caught the panicked looks the team sent each other before they turned their backs to him and began to mutter among themselves. Quickly slipping his fingers into Kushina's pocket, he pulled out the seals which amplified his hearing and placed it just inside his ear. As soon as he activated it, he could hear the other team's whispered conversation.

"Who's going to hold onto the coin?" The largest of them, a dark-skinned boy with hair the exact same color tied back in a ponytail, asked his teammates.

"I vote for irony, Taichi has a lightning affinity and our coin says lightning," the girl smirked.

"Fine, I'll carry it," Taichi sighed. "We have a bigger problem. The only food we have is a handful of Ryouichi's energy bars, which certainly will not last three days if we have more than one or two fights, and we don't have a sensor to help us find the other coins we'll need."

"Minato," Kushina tugged on his arm. "Of course our coin is fire."

"Perfect," he answered with a grin. "I know exactly how we can breeze through this exam."

"Care to share?"

"Follow me." Minato pulled the seal out of his ear and marched up to the other team, Kushina on his heels. "I heard you guys have a problem," he started.

"What's it to you, Konoha?" The largest boy answered, turning towards the two of them.

"You need a sensor. I'm a very good one. You need food. We have plenty of it. Best of all, your coin is lightning, ours is fire. Your best bet would be to team up with us. What do you think?"

"What do you get out of this?" The girl demanded.

"As you can see, we're a two-man cell. Our victory is not certain should we face any three-man cell. If we team up with you, it increases chances of defeating any opposing teams we come across, as well as our chances at passing this exam. Also, if we team up, we will be able to hoard the coins and decrease the chances of other teams from passing."

"What about the signal they send out? Logically, the more coins we have, the stronger the signal becomes."

"I can temporarily neutralize the signal," Kushina inserted. "It's easy, just put them inside of this scroll. It blocks everything inside from being sensed."

Everyone stared at her, appalled.

"What?"

"That scroll is for carrying dead comrades," Taichi answered.

Minato shook his head. "Genin aren't issued corpse scrolls, why did you take it?"

"It's made of sealing paper. I wanted to know what was on it," Kushina answered defensively. "Besides, the seal makes everything inside of it completely undetectable, unlike a normal storage seal, which things inside of it can still emit a signal."

"Please excuse my teammate," Minato turned towards the Kiri team.

"What?" Kushina demanded.

"And you call me dense! Showing someone from a different village a corpse scroll is considered a death threat," Minato explained patiently.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Kushina squeaked, distraught.

"Considering you're the only two-man team to make it into the second exam, you seem worthy to team up with," the Kiri girl chuckled. "You obviously know about sealing and look like a tomato when you blush. To be able to overhear our conversation you must be a pretty good sensor, Blondie, even if you don't look like you can take a hit. We'll agree to the alliance." She held out a hand.

Minato and Kushina just glared at her.

She grinned and pulled back her hand. "I'm Yuki Naoko. The big guy is Saito Ryouichi and the other boy is Hashimoto Taichi."

"Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina," Minato gritted out.

"Konoha's been holding out on everyone! Those clans are supposed to be all but dead!"

"Shut up," Minato and Kushina snapped together.

Each of the teams assessed each other. On the Kiri team, Ryouichi was the only one built like a fighter. He wore armor and leather gloves with metal embedded in the knuckles. Strapped around his waist was an assortment of small, odd-shaped knives and a short tantō. A second tantō was strapped across his back. His feet were bare. The girl did not look like much, with pale hair framing her equally pale face. She wore a washed-out colors and a black jacket tied around her waist. She appeared more fashion-obsessed than serious about being a shinobi, but her surprisingly high chakra reserves indicated there might be more to her story. Taichi appeared to be part of Ryouichi's shadow, easily overlooked. Even his skin seemed to blend in to the larger boy's shadow. He wore only mottled dark grey and the entire outfit seemed specifically designed to disguise his movements. The entire Kiri team was at least three years older and a full head taller than Minato and Kushina.

"So what kind of food do you have?" Taichi asked curiously.

"Ramen!" The two Konoha Nin exclaimed happily.

"Ah, and how are you going to make the ramen?"

"Seals," Minato answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Anything else?" Naoko asked, tentatively.

Kushina shrugged. "Ration bars if you want them, but I would recommend the ramen, it'll give you more energy."

Naoko grimaced. "Too many calories, I think I'll stick with ration bars."

Kushina rolled her eyes as the proctor returned. "Follow me," he ordered, without even looking at them. They obeyed and followed him down a confusing maze of meandering hallways and stopped at a random point, touching the wall. "A door will open here in exactly seventeen minutes. You will have one minute to go through. As soon as the door closes the exam begins. There is only one rule, no killing. Kiri, stay here. Konoha, you're going through a different door. The proctor turned his back and walked away.

The two Konoha Nin turned to follow but Taichi darted forward and grabbed Minato's wrist. The blond turned toward him alarmed, automatically drawing his kunai.

Pressing his team's coin into Minato's hand, he whispered in the blond's ear, "Hide the coins in the scroll as soon as you enter the caves then find us."

Minato nodded and rushed to catch up to Kushina and the proctor as Taichi's teammates glared at him.

"You better have a plan," Ryouichi glared menacingly at his smaller teammate. Minato was out of earshot before he could hear the rest.

Ten minutes later, the proctor stopped and touched the wall. "In nearly seven minutes, a door will open here for exactly one minute. As soon as it closes, the exam begins. I hope you remember what I told the other team, because I'm not repeating myself." The proctor vanished in a shunshin, leaving only a few pebbles behind.

"Taichi-san gave me his coin, and said to put them in the scroll as soon as we enter the caves," Minato said as soon as he determined them to be alone. "He also told me to find them."

"Then we'll do as he says, he obviously has a plan and we don't."

"I think I have an idea what his plan is."

"Do geniuses have some sort of psychic connection now?"

"No, think about it. The proctor said the second exams will be held in caves. The coins can be sensed and there's coins hidden in the caves. Why would we need to sense the coins if we could just look for them?"

"Make it easier?"

"No, caves are dark. He probably figured out its going to be dark in the caves."

"Well, I doubt it will be pitch-black, I mean, standard shinobi gear doesn't come with flashlights."

"True, but the majority of higher-ranked missions take place at night, and it's pitch black or nearly that when it's cloudy out, especially so when you're not in a village."

"That means, Taichi thinks the same thing. They don't have a sensor on their team, and I guess he realized that none of them have any way to make a light. We don't have any light either and we don't know any fire jutsu. We'll be as blind as them!"

Minato flinched. "I don't need light to see."

"What do you mean? How?"

"I don't want to explain, just trust me."

"Fine. You'll tell me after this exam is over, right?"

Minato shrugged and they settled into an uncomfortable silence until the door opened. The two stepped through and waited for it to close. Sure enough, as soon as the door closed there was no light to be found.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chuunin Exams Part 6**

 **(-)**

Grabbing Kushina's hand, Minato put the two pouches with coins into the corpse scroll and focused on the chakra signature of the Kiri team. Taking Kushina's hand, he pulled her toward it, struggling to find his way through the terrain which seemed more like a maze of tunnels than a cave system. Halfway there, Minato stopped abruptly.

"What are we going to do?" Someone whined ahead of them.

"We have to find a way to see first!" Another responded.

Minato jerked Kushina close and breathed in her ear, "Do you have that seal that makes the really bright light?"

She nodded and pulled it out of another seal with a tiny pop.

"Wait, I think someone's here!" The first voice hissed.

"I heard it too!" A third voice, clearly a girl, squeaked.

"I'll take them down while you blind them," Minato told her, barely audible as the echoes of the other team's voices faded.

"I don't hear anything," The second boy scoffed. "The two of you are just paranoid!"

As punctuation to his statement, Kushina activated the seal. Bright light blossomed behind them. The other team turned toward it instinctively and cried out in pain. Keeping his eyes closed, Minato darted forward, staying close to the wall so as to make as much light reach them as possible. The second boy to speak raised his arms instinctively and caught Minato's first strike. Twisting out of the boy's grip, Minato kneed him in the stomach and struck the girl on the side of her head, knocking her out with the handle of his kunai. Minato turned back to the boy he kneed and knocked him out before facing the last boy, whose eyes had adjusted to the light.

"You bastard!" He snarled. Minato darted forward, keeping his speed at a Genin level, and swung a kick at the boy, who grabbed his ankle and shoved him down the hall and away from the light. Minato smirked as Kushina appeared behind him, the light dying, and punched him in the head. He flew towards Minato, who rolled out of the way as the boy landed beside him. "Bitch!" He snarled as Kushina rushed forward. She smiled evilly and kicked him in the head, just as the last of the light died.

"Get their coin," Kushina said as she backed against the wall. "I can't see a thing!" She whined.

"The girl has it."

"So?"

"I'm not going to stick my hand in a girl's pockets!"

"I'm rolling my eyes, Minato," she told him. "Where is she?" Minato stood up and guided her towards the girl.

"Which pocket is the coin in?"

"I don't know, when the coin touches someone's skin, their entire body becomes a beacon."

"Fine!" Kushina searched the girl until she found the coin. "She's stupid if she thought hiding it in her bra was going to dissuade anyone from taking it."

"What's a bra?"

Dead silence answered him.

"It's a legitimate question!" He protested.

"Forget about it. They have a water coin, it's useless to us."

Minato didn't answer as Kushina sealed the coin inside of the corpse scroll.

"They're from Iwa, I thought they would be at least a little more prepared for an underground fight. I guess not. Let's hope the other teams are similarly unprepared."

Minato just took her hand and continued to lead her towards their Kiri allies.

On the long, confusing way there, Minato managed to skirt two other teams without being noticed before stopping ten meters away from their allies.

"I'm here," Minato said softly.

"The Konoha Nin are here," Naoko kicked her teammates awake. "It's been nearly ten hours! What took you so long?"

"This place is a maze!" Minato answered defensively. "Just because I knew where you were, doesn't mean I could find you! It didn't help that you started to move around!"

"We heard fighting so we moved away from it," Ryouichi answered. "I'm scowling right now."

"I can tell," Minato retorted.

"Enough fighting!" Kushina and Taichi snapped at the same time.

"Did you guys meet anyone on the way?" Taichi snapped.

"One team. We got a coin off them, but it was water, useless to both of us. Honestly, what are the chances?"

"It's a sixty percent chance that we find a coin useless to both parties," Taichi answered. "It's lower than if you were alone. Then it would be an eighty percent chance of finding a useless coin."

"It was a rhetorical question," Kushina retorted. "I'm rolling my eyes."

Taichi bristled.

"Speaking of coins, Kushina said the water coin was hidden in the Iwa girl's bra. What's a bra? Kushina wouldn't say."

The Kiri team started laughing at Minato's question. Even Kushina giggled.

"What is so funny?" He demanded.

"Nothing!" Naoko giggled. "I just thought all boys were perverts and then you come along perfectly innocent!"

"What does a pervert have to do with anything?"

Ryouichi and Taichi started laughing harder.

"Shut up!" Naoko snapped at them and the quieted instantly. "Damn, now I wish I was on your team, Minato-kun. You're lucky to have him as a teammate, Kushina-san." Naoko waved her arms blindly in front of her.

"Don't hit me!" Minato cried, ducking underneath and pulling Kushina with him.

"I'm trying to find you. Clearly, you can see in the dark and I figured it would be safer holding onto you than my idiot, perverted teammates." She groped towards Minato's voice and he stuck his arm out to stop her from grabbing his face and stood up.

"Are you guys really that bad at being in the dark?" Kushina asked. "Even I can sense where you guys are and I have the worst chakra control in the village."

"Doing things in the dark isn't a Genin skill, little girl," Taichi explained, patronizingly.

"Right, it's a Chuunin skill. How do you expect to become Chuunin if you don't have the skills a Chuunin needs?" Minato defended her.

"You two really are naïve," Ryouichi commented. "That's not how it works."

"Then how—" Minato broke off. "Someone heard us talking or sensed us. They're coming this way from the direction Kushina and I came in. Three people."

"Do you have any way to make a light?" Taichi asked quickly and barely audible while Ryouichi and Naoko chattered mindlessly to drown him out.

"Yes, but the seal has to be touched," Kushina whispered back.

"Okay, you stand the farthest away from our visitors. My team will line up along the walls with our backs to you. You light up the seal as bright as you can and we'll attack as soon as we can see. Minato-san, can you fight in the dark?"

"Yes."

"Good, you'll stand out of the immediate fight and watch our backs. Knock them out as soon as we distract them. Minato, say 'wait a minute' when they're in range. Begin."

Everyone took their positions. The Kiri team felt their way along the walls and crouched down, arguing about the benefits and drawbacks of a basic Henge. Minato forced himself to concentrate on the approaching team.

"Wait a minute!" He interrupted Ryouichi and Naoko's debate. Kushina turned the light on before he even finished the phrase. After a brief, startled silence, the Kiri team attacked.

"You're not good enough to beat us, Iwa scum!" Ryouichi cried as he punched through a rock wall and engaged the Iwa Nin in Taijutsu.

Naoko created a thin mist which enveloped the other two Iwa Nin. One of them tried to rush forward, but Taichi used a quick lightning jutsu to force them to stand still, but it lacked the power to cause any damage or last for more than a second. In that second, Taichi and Naoko engaged them in Taijutsu.

Attracted by the sound of fighting, a second team appeared behind Kushina.

"Everyone duck, there's another team!" Minato shouted as the new team threw a barrage of kunai, racing forward. Before the kunai reached him, Minato leapt to the ceiling, using chakra on his hands and feet to stick, and started to scramble towards the new arrivals. Ryouichi and Taichi managed to take advantage of the distraction, knocking out and paralyzing their respective opponents. Naoko imprisoned her opponent in ice. Kushina turned the light on the arriving team, less than a step away from her. Minato dropped from the ceiling and disarmed the boy about to stab Kushina, before grabbing Kushina's arm and flinging her towards the second member of the team. She spun inside the opposing Genin's reach and used her momentum to barrel into his chest, knocking him back behind his teammate. The last boy rushed forward towards the Kiri team, who moved into a defensive formation to meet a nunchaku-wielding genin.

The genin Minato disarmed drew a tantō and swung it blindingly fast to try and force Minato backwards. Instead of backing off, Minato blocked the tantō with his forearm and used his other hand to stab through the Genin's wrist, pinning him against the wall. Minato bit back a sound as the Genin screamed in surprise before Minato drew a second kunai with his injured arm and knocked the Genin out with the handle.

At the same time as Minato's fight, Kushina barreled down her opponent, shining the light directly in his eyes. When he flinched away, she dropped the seal and grabbed his shirt, swinging herself towards the wall and kicking off of it to maneuver herself behind him and wrap her arm around his neck. He took a deep breath but before he could twist himself free, her grip tightened and closed his airways. He tried to flip Kushina over his head, but she wrapped her legs around his waist and he staggered forward into Minato, who just knocked out his own opponent.

Minato grabbed the Genin's outstretched arm as Kushina unwrapped her legs so Minato could use the quickly-suffocating Genin's arm to slam him face-first against the wall. Tightening her grip even further, the Genin fell limp. Minato grabbed the light seal and Kushina activated it with her other hand to reveal the Kiri team lying unconscious across the hall, the nunchaku Genin standing over them.

Minato faced off against the last opponent and his eyes tracked the nunchaku as the Genin swung it blindingly fast. He held up his three-pronged kunai in a reverse grip and crouched defensively. Without warning, the Genin leapt forward. Minato blocked countless strikes before using a quick jutsu to shove the Genin backwards. As he dashed back towards Minato, the blond tried to slip inside of the strike, but the nunchaku swung around and struck him where his neck met his shoulders and the Genin flung him past. Minato rolled back to his feet and his eyes widened as he tracked the nunchaku's pattern, analyzing its weaknesses. "That was pathetic, our academy students back in Suna know better than that," the Genin scoffed.

"Too bad the Suna academy didn't teach you situational awareness," Minato retorted as Kushina struck the Genin on the back of the head. Minato straightened and rolled his shoulders before beginning to search the nunchaku-wielding Genin for his coin. Kushina lowered the brightness of her seal to a thin glow and moved to check on the Kiri team. Ryouichi sat up groggily, holding his head, as she crouched beside him. "It's a lightning coin," Minato announced, dejected. He walked over to the Kiri team, crouched beside Taichi, and placed a hand on the unconscious boy's forehead. Minato's hand flickered green and Taichi woke abruptly.

"Gross! What is on your hand?" Taichi demanded, slapping Minato's wrist and rubbing his forehead.

"Sorry, it's just a little blood."

"That's more than a little blood! What happened?"

"Let me wake Naoko-san up and I'll tell you." Minato stepped to the opposite side of the tunnel without fully standing up and placed his hand on Naoko's forehead. It briefly glowed green before she woke.

"Ew!" She slapped his hand away. "What is on your hand?"

"It's just some blood! Baby Kakashi can handle it better than you guys and he's two!" Minato answered hotly.

"He's right," Kushina noted as Minato slapped the coin he found into her hand. She sealed it into the corpse scroll.

"You're bleeding!" Naoko cried when Kushina's light fell on his injured arm.

Minato jerked his arm out of the light. "Where do you think the blood came from?" Minato asked. He crouched on the other side of Ryouichi and pressed his injured hand against the older boy's forehead. It flickered to green and Ryouichi visibly relaxed.

"Thank you, Minato-san. My team mates are right, the blood on your hand is disgusting. You should have healed yourself first."

Minato looked at Kushina, exasperated.

"Weren't you guys the ones that claimed he couldn't take a hit?" Kushina pointed out.

"For your information, the blade was poisoned. Since I don't have an antidote for whatever that Genin put on his blade, I have to bleed the poison out. Do you guys only know combat? You honestly aren't that great if one Genin with a nunchaku could knock all three of you out in less than a minute without any jutsu," Minato said angrily.

"Then how did you beat him?"

"I took a hit and he threw me past and turned his back on Kushina. She hit him from behind. Simple."

"She knows Fūinjutsu, you're a sensor and a medic, and you both have to be quite fast, that means you must be good at Taijutsu, you both have a lot of chakra so how are you still Genin?" Naoko demanded

Kushina snorted. "Minato was dead last in the Academy and I honestly wasn't ranked much better than him. We had to basically blackmail Minato's sensei into letting us take the exams and annoy the Hokage until he gave his approval. In short, we're really good at faking it and working as a team. Even a Jōnin would have to think twice when facing more than one Genin working well together."

"There is no way teamwork makes you that much better," Taichi scoffed while he searched the Iwa team for the coin.

"Believe what you will. The Iwa boy who faced Ryouichi-san has the coin," Minato inspected his arm while Kushina shone the light on it.

"That looks nasty," she commented. "Maybe we should have gotten—"

"I'm not going to ask Sakumo-san for anything more than I have to. He has Kakashi to take care of now."

"You mean Hatake Sakumo?" Ryouichi asked.

"What about him?" Minato responded defensively.

"Do you know him?"

"Everyone in the village knows who he is."

"Have you met him? What's he like? Is he really as strong as the Bingo books say?"

"Just because we're allies doesn't mean I'm going to give you information on my village's Jōnin," Minato responded coldly.

"Right," Ryouichi responded, dejected. "But how does a Genin know a top-level Jōnin like the White Fang?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"He was the reason I became a shinobi."

"Really?" Minato scowled, most of his concentration focused on healing his arm. "How does a pre-Academy civilian from Kiri know about the White Fang?"

"I'm not from Kiri itself, I'm from a tiny island near the Land of Lightning. The White Fang had a mission to kill someone who had been terrorizing the village. The village hired Konoha to get rid of him because Kiri was too expensive."

"That's an interesting story, but I'm still not going to tell you anything about him."

"Do you know him?"

"A lot of people know him."

"Let it rest, Ryouichi," Naoto rolled her eyes. "No one else wants to hear about your obsession with the White Fang."

"Fine," he snapped. "Do you have the coin, Taichi?"

"Right here." Taichi tossed the coin at Kushina so she could seal it away. "It's wind, congratulations. As soon as we find earth, we'll have a one of all the elements. According to my watch, it's almost morning. We should get away from here and find a place to get some rest, start hunting the last coin in a few hours."

"Good idea," Kushina agreed, "But let's eat here so we don't attract anyone to wherever we decide to rest." Ten minutes later, everyone except Naoko was digging in to the cup ramen Kushina made, around the corner from the unconscious Genin. Naoko stared sourly at the rations bar she chose instead. "Are you on a diet or something?" Kushina asked Naoko through a mouthful of noodles, two other cups of ramen sitting in front of her.

"Of course! Aren't you?"

"No way!"

"Aren't you worried about getting fat?" The three boys suddenly felt extremely awkward as Kushina started on her second cup

"Why would I care? If I got fat I could just learn some of the Akimichi jutsus."

"Don't you have a boy you want to stay thin and pretty for?"

"Why would a guy care if I was thin and pretty?" Kushina started her third cup of ramen.

"Guys only like thin girls."

Kushina shrugged. "It doesn't matter if a guy likes me. As a Kunoichi, relationships like that are dangerous." Kushina finished her ramen.

"It's fine as long as the guy is a shinobi too."

"Maybe for you. But it's not like I can have a baby since I'm a Jinchuuriki." Kushina stiffened and stared at Minato in horror as the last word slipped out of her mouth.

Everyone tensed, wondering what the other would do. "I need to talk to my team alone," Taichi stood up suddenly and pulled his teammates away. Minato swallowed his bite and shifted in front of Kushina to block the tears welling in her eyes at the horrified and fearful looks from the Kiri team. While she struggled to compose herself, Minato stacked her empty ramen cups inside of his and pulled her in the opposite direction. After a few steps, he deactivated the light seal and stuffed it in his pocket. Kushina suddenly wrapped her arms around Minato and buried her teary face in his shoulder.

"I'm so stupid!" She mumbled as Minato awkwardly tried to pat her back with his hands pinned to his side. "Both my teammates left me when they found out, now they're going to leave too because of me!"

"They're not going to leave. They'll never pass this test without us."

"You mean they'll never pass the test without you. If they find out you can make the light seal too—"

"I'm not going to leave you. Remember the day we decided to be an awesome team together?"

"They'll attack us and take you and—"

"They are completely blind in here without us."

"But they'll—"

"I'm not going to leave you, Kushina. For any reason. I promised, remember?"

"But you didn't mean it!"

"I meant every word! Don't even think something like that!" Minato wormed his arms free and wrapped them tightly around Kushina's shoulders.

"Do you care if I'm fat?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Minato asked, taken by surprise. "You're my best friend, why would I care what you looked like or what you have sealed inside of you?"

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really, really?"

"Really, really."

"Pinky swear?"

"Double pinky swear."

Kushina stepped back so they could link fingers.

"See? I promise I'm not going to leave you, okay?"

"You never asked me to promise anything to you."

"Then promise me you'll stop thinking I'm going to abandon you."

"I promise."

"Now, let's finish this exam and wipe the floor with everyone else, okay?"

Kushina grinned widely. "I'm smiling."

"I can tell."

 _Author's note: This seems like the perfect place to end this. In all, the Kiri team comes back and admits they can't do squat without Minato and Kushina, all five of them manage to pass the second exam with plenty of extra coins alongside four other teams. A month later, they compete in front of everyone. Both win their first round and are paired against each other in the semifinals, but refuse to fight a teammate and the round ends up a draw. Both are promoted to Chuunin when they get back to Konoha. Everyone is happy except Orochimaru for spending the entire trip, minus the four days for the first and second exams, with the two Genin-turned-Chuunin bent on annoying him to death._


	28. Chapter 28

**Testing Part 1**

 _Minato and Kushina are almost 12 and already two of the most accomplished Fūinjutsu users in the village._

 **(-)**

"If you don't hold still, I'm going to knock you unconscious!" Kushina snapped in annoyance as Minato squirmed in front of her.

"The ink is cold!" Minato protested immediately.

"Too bad!"

"It tickles!"

"Suck it up!"

"You're such a perfectionist!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am too!"

"See! Even you admitted it!"

"Why don't you ever fall for it?"

"Because I'm too perfect."

Kushina snorted as she finished off the seal with a flourish. "All done!"

Minato shot to his feet. A complex seal started over his sternum, spreading over his shoulders and down the tops of his arms to wrap around his wrist and followed the same path back up his arms, winding around his shoulder blades. The dark symbols cascaded down the sides of his hips, winding around his legs, looping around his ankles before tracing its path back up his legs and blossoming across his back.

A loud banging interrupted Minato's examination of the seals in a small mirror.

"That is _enough_ you two! I want my room back this instant! None of your damned seals are going to keep me out if you don't open this door in the next five seconds. Five!"

"Right on time!" Kushina smirked.

Minato jerked open the door. "Thanks for letting us use your sealing room, old pervert!" Before Jiraiya could respond, both preteens dashed past him, leaving him to glare angrily at the grossly messy room they left behind. Curious, Jiraiya entered to examine the scrolls they left behind. A peculiar scroll laid out almost reverently caught his eye. He maneuvered he way to it and picked it up, his eyes widening in a mixture of amusement, surprise, and horror.

"Minato!" Jiraiya bellowed, racing out of the room. "Damn you, gaki! Don't you dare try anything!" Jiraiya tore through the village after his student. He caught up as Minato put his hands together in the final seal, facing Kushina, who stood a few steps away with a scrap of paper in hand.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu!" The blond shouted.

Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief when nothing happened.

"Try placing the seal on something solid instead of holding it like I had to do for that faulty explosion seal," Minato suggested.

"No, I know why it didn't work," Kushina replied and turned to one of the training logs, drawing the seal directly onto it, altering it slightly. She walked over to Minato and did the same on the handle of one of his kunai. "Now try it!" Kushina backed away to stand beside the training log.

"You will do nothing of the sort!" Jiraiya ordered, but both ignored him.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu!"

Minato vanished in a spectacular flash of yellow light, reappearing on top of Kushina. They tumbled to the ground. Minato's face landed on top of hers and they instantly broke apart, spluttering and wiping their mouths.

"Ew!" They complained simultaneously.

The last of Jiraiya's patience vanished and he lifted both squirming troublemakers up by the hair.

"Did you see it, sensei? I did the Hiraishin! Just like the Nidaime!" Minato exclaimed.

"Wasn't it awesome?" Kushina demanded. "Hold on, we have to make the seal permanent!"

Completely disregarding his sensei, Minato twisted out of Jiraiya's grip and backed away, focusing his chakra. The lines of ink glowed brightly and Jiraiya felt the heat almost scald his own skin from a distance. Minato grimaced as the lines etched themselves underneath his skin.

"You're both idiots!" The adult snarled and regained his grip on Minato, immediately Shunshining directly into the Hokage's office and throwing them against the man's desk, followed by the only record of the Nidaime's Hiraishin.

"Where did you get this?" The Sandaime asked, forcing patience.

The two Genin glanced at each other, abashed.

"Well," Kushina began.

"Since no one could figure it out—" Minato continued.

"We figured no one would miss it—"

"If we borrowed it for awhile—"

"We're really good with sealing—"

"And being able to use the Hiraishin—"

"Would mean that we could go on harder missions—"

"And get more free time because—"

"We wouldn't have to walk everywhere!"

"You don't mind, do you?" Minato finished.

"This scroll is an official jutsu record. What is the policy on jutsu scrolls?"

The two glanced at each other and shrugged. "They're for all shinobi?" Minato guessed hopefully.

"No, we've gone over this before."

"High-ranked jutsu scrolls are only available with specific permission from the Hokage, Head Jōnin, or ranked ANBU member," Kushina reluctantly recited.

"It's a good thing one of you remembers. So, why do I have the Nidaime's Hiraishin scroll on my desk and a boy covered with very familiar sealing lines?"

"I would've asked, I swear, but you're always busy and Hyuuga-Jiji hasn't been in the village," Minato protested. "You get really mad when I follow Sakumo-san around so asking the ANBU would've gotten you madder!"

The Sandaime sighed and pulled out his pipe. "Don't use that jutsu until I've looked over your seals personally." The Hokage turned his attention towards Jiraiya. "How did they get the scroll? I don't recall a report that the scroll was stolen and it was signed out under your name."

"Damned kids broke into my sealing room where I kept it and turned my own seals against me while I was on a mission."

"So you're telling me that two barely-Chuunin managed to find a way past the S-ranked seals I allowed you to place around your sealing room?"

"They're damn annoying, meddling kids," Jiraiya snapped. "They suck at everything except causing me trouble at every turn."

"Which seals did they get past?"

Jiraiya slapped down three pieces of paper. "You said so yourself that these seals are impossible to get past and survive."

The Hokage glanced over the seals. "How did you get past these seals?" The Hokage demanded of the Genin, holding up the seals.

The two exchanged a glance and fidgeted. Finally, Kushina answered. "The base of the seal is a compass, which is structurally inferior to a spiral and it doesn't have the stability factor that Minato's have to make it harder to destabilize. I just added weight to one side of the matrix and it just fell apart. All of them did. It was easy!"

"You destabilized the matrix of a seal on purpose? Do you have any idea what an unstable seal can do?"

"Of course I know! Remember that matrix I showed you that would forcibly stabilize almost any seal? It works, but the ultimate function of those seals was to protect and there's a ridiculously dangerous number of redundancies so I destabilized all but one and the one prevented all the stuff from basically blowing up and incinerating me. If you took out the redundancies, it would be a lot better seal. The central matrix, the protection factor, makes them unnecessary. The traps on the outside make the attacks but someone added a protection factor on the outside rather than a containment factor so that just made it so anyone could study the seal and tamper with it without getting hurt."

"Simply suppressing chakra allowed us to get close enough. I didn't turn the seals against you, sensei," Minato defended, "I just improved them!"

"If you have time to—"

"Fūinjutsu is a branch of the shinobi arts!" Minato interrupted hotly, knowing exactly where the conversation turned. "Everyone loyal to Konoha who knows more than the minimum of Fūinjutsu is old and in this room right now! Don't try and say we're not using our time properly!"

"Minato!"

The boy bit back the rest of his rant.

The Hokage waited to make sure he would remain silent before opening a drawer behind his desk. "These are the Yamanaka aptitude tests for both of you when you graduated from the Academy. Do you remember taking them?"

The genin nodded.

"Good. Both of you were declared to be best placed as frontline, offensive fighters."

"So?"

"Approximately seventy percent of the active Konoha forces are defensive or support-based."

"So?"

"The only reason I allow the two of you to goof off like you do," the Sandaime raised his voice, "Is because you have the potential to become a damn good tag-team." He slowly rose to his feet, leaning on his desk. "Now, if you don't want that to happen, I will order you to participate in the active Chuunin teams. Now, stop putting your lives at risk by experimenting with seals and focus on training as the frontline fighters the village needs you to become!"

The Genin glared at the Kage defiantly. "Fūinjutsu can be used as a frontline tactic," Kushina shouted back. "And you're the one who promoted us."

"The Nidaime used Fūinjutsu to defeat Uchiha Izuna," Minato continued. "Uzumaki Mito used Fūinjutsu to defeat the Kyuubi!"

"You are not legendary shinobi who can afford the time to dabble in sealing! You are both pathetic at Taijutsu for your rank and neither of you have any skill in Ninjutsu, despite your unusually high chakra reserves, which are being wasted when you're sitting around looking at paper all day!"

"We're just fine in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu!" Kushina snapped. "We could be better, true, but—"

"The fact that Fūinjutsu is rarely practiced makes it an advantage in almost any setting!" Minato added.

"How exactly can you use Fūinjutsu as a frontline boon?"

Both Genin paused, unable to think of a retort.

"I thought so."

"You're wrong! We can beat you with Fūinjutsu!" Kushina snapped back.

"Really now?"

"Yeah! I bet we can too!" Minato agreed with his troublesome counterpart. "We win, you gotta let us do it our way, and if you win, we'll do it your stupid way."

"And how do you think two barely-Chuunin can win against a Kage?"

"An Academy student could take down a Kage if the circumstances were right!"

The Hokage pressed the tips of his fingers together, inwardly impressed at their determination and outwardly annoyed with the insubordination. "Again I ask, how?" Out of the corner of his eye, Sarutobi noticed the rather tall pile of incident reports and remembered exactly how tall it could get when one of the two individuals in front of him did not get their way. "Think on it for a night. If a beat down is what it takes for you to follow orders, then I will comply."

The Hokage found himself disliking the excited looks on their faces.

"Now get out. I have work to do."

The speed at which they disappeared gave Sarutobi a quickly smothered second thought.


	29. Chapter 29

**Testing Part 2**

 **(-)**

"Do you really think it will work?" Kushina asked for the one hundredth and thirty-fifth time. "I still think we should have just overwhelmed him with that elemental stuff we've started working on. We have enough chakra to do it."

"No, we have to use Fūinjutsu." Minato answered, anxiously fiddling with the seals in his hand, "but it's our best shot and he's going to be here any second so we don't have time to change the plan!"

"Right."

On instinct, the two leapt apart to avoid the staff ready to knock them unconscious. "Are you ready?" The Sandaime asked, studying them carefully.

Without hesitation, they sprang into action, attacking simultaneously, their feet never leaving the ground as they shuffled around.

"Clever, but not clever enough," the Sandaime commented and performed an earth jutsu to ruin their attempt at a seal. Without a word, the Genin changed tactics and attacked him directly, their trademarked coordination appearing to be shot. Sarutobi swung his staff around, easily intercepting their weak strikes frowning at the fact they were obviously holding back speed and skill. Disappointed, Sarutobi increased his speed and struck Minato in the stomach. When he pulled back to attack Kushina, he found one end of the staff so heavy he could barely keep it off the ground, much less swing it. Abandoning the weapon, Sarutobi targeted Minato, who took an instant too long to recover from the blow. Sarutobi grasped both of Minato's wrists, forced his arms to cross uncomfortably behind his head, and placed the boy between himself and Kushina. "You lose," the Sandaime declared.

"Not yet!" Kushina answered and charged. The Sandaime tensed to react to however she managed to avoid her teammate. To his surprise, her open palm struck the center of Minato's chest and sealing lines snaked down his arms and tied his hands around Minato's wrists. The boy's chakra surged into him, the equivalent of a lightning strike. Any lesser ninja, it would have immobilized, but Sarutobi went on the attack. A series of heavy strikes later, both lay on the ground, battered. Sarutobi crouched between them.

"Your plan was flawed from the beginning. Never engage someone you know to be stronger unless you have no other choice."

They forced themselves back to their feet, grinning. Before Sarutobi could do more than smirk in amusement, their hands came together in the Tiger seal and the massive, hidden structure under the Hokage's feet burst to life. Ropes of chakra immobilized the Kage.

"It's only flawed if it doesn't work!" Kushina grunted out, struggling to maintain the chakra output necessary. "Go!" She drew on the Kyuubi's chakra to maintain the seal as Minato stumbled forward and pressed the butt of a kunai over Sarutobi's heart.

"We win," Minato said as the seal holding the Kage in place collapsed.

Kushina dropped to one knee, gasping. Minato spun around and hurried towards her, using one hand to draw out the remnants of the Kyuubi's chakra from her body and direct them into the ground. The Sandaime stood there, stunned, analyzing the fight in his head.

"How did you do it?" He demanded.

"Shinobi exploit every weakness," Kushina answered.

"You let us get away with all sorts of stuff. If the village didn't need specific skill sets, you would have just let us do whatever we wanted. Since we're 'barely Chuunin', there was no way you'd take the fight seriously and beat us right away."

"No one senses their own chakra!"

"Every time someone makes a sharp motion around you, you channel chakra into your feet so you can hold your ground. We used that to create the real seal and you never noticed because you just kept grinding us into the ground and giving us time to concentrate on the seal."

"And we proved that Fūinjutsu can be used in an offensive setting! And you said we had to win with Fūinjutsu, so we didn't go all-out in Taijutsu. We're a lot better than you think."

"Impressive, for two dead-lasts," Jiraiya inserted, "but pathetic for the God of Shinobi."

The entire assembly turned to glare at him. "Only you can insult and compliment an entire assembly in the same breath."

"What can I say, I'm the—"

"No!" Minato shouted and covered his ears.

"Come on, gaki!"

"No! It's stupid!" Minato shot to his feet and glared up at his sensei.

"You little bastard!" Jiraiya lunged forward and Minato pranced out of reach, his tongue out.

"Stop. I want to see exactly what you can do, no holds barred. Meet me here tomorrow," The Sandaime said. The two Chuunin grinned triumphantly.

"I told you my plans always work!" Minato smirked at Kushina.

"Well, you didn't think it would work either!"

"But it did!"

"That doesn't count!"

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"Does too!"

"Even you admit it!"

The Sandaime scowled, annoyed that he had let himself be played by two twelve-year-olds.


	30. Chapter 30

**Tag-Team Part 1**

 _Minato and Kushina are 14. They just became Jōnin. As Chuunin, they were always teammates and were the only two-man team the Hokage allowed only because Kushina threatened to prank him every day until he allowed it. They are currently called Lightning and are one of the most famous teams in Konoha, aside from the Sannin, but under the Hokage's orders, they have not allowed their identities to be known, though any shinobi in the village worth their salt knows who they are._

 _Though they get into arguments occasionally, they have never seriously physically fought with one another, not even in a sparring match. The closest they've come to actual combat with each other is testing the effectiveness of a new Taijutsu move or Kushina losing her temper and punching the closest thing, which is occasionally Minato. Both refuse to fight the other._

 _Even though they are full-fledged ninja, they are still 14; naïve, childish, and immature. Nothing like the other prodigies in the series because they have each other._

 **(MINATO AND KUSHINA)**

"Please, please, please, please, please, pretty please!" Minato and Kushina begged, crouching on either side of the Hokage's desk in the mission assignments room.

The Sandaime stubbornly ignored them and handed a mission scroll to the Chuunin team watching him with more than a small amount of pity. Even if they held little respect for the two barely-teenagers-turned-Jōnin, they acknowledged the duo's ability to get their way. In everything. As the Chuunin team walked out of the room, the Hokage lost his last scraps of patience.

"The two of you are barely Jōnin. No matter how great you tag-team is, I'm not giving you an S-ranked mission!"

"But we want to do it!" Kushina protested.

"Our skill set is close to perfect for the mission and you know it," Minato reasoned.

"You're fourteen! I'm not going to send you into the Bloody Mist."

"We're ninja, not children! Besides, we've been on a B-turned-S-ranked mission before, when we were Chuunin, and completed it. You can trust us, Jiji!" Kushina protested.

"We've hardly done anything but B-ranks since we became Jōnin. We can handle it, Hokage-sama."

"I don't doubt you. I think you can finish this mission spectacularly, but you're still fourteen. If your identities are found out, which is a high risk on this mission, the image of Lightning will be ruined."

"But Jiji!"

"From a tactical standpoint, there are two other teams suitable for this mission. One team is temporarily split due to injury and the other is on a mission elsewhere, not due to return for another two weeks."

"I really don't like it when you read the mission assignments, Minato-kun. You're not supposed to have access to those."

"Hyuuga-sama said I could be head Jōnin after he retires in a decade or so. He lets me read them!" Minato protested. "You're changing the subject! The mission has to be accepted or declined in the next two days. Kushina and I are finishing a week of leave, so we are perfectly suited to carry out this mission."

"Really now? Just because your skill set and status is suitable, it doesn't mean your age or methods are."

"Hokage-sama, I intend no disrespect by reminding you that we are ninja. Our methods have no boundaries and our age has no weight in your decision. This is not an infiltration mission. We will not be seen. Our skill and status are the only factors in this decision. Your only other alternative would be to send one of the ANBU, but their forces are spread thin and cannot take this mission, considering there is only one in this room guarding you and there hasn't been a single ANBU guarding Kushina in three weeks. Konoha can use the funds, especially in regards to the Chuunin exams, which are to be held in Konoha exactly four months and six days from now," Minato crossed his arms, sensing his victory.

The Hokage pinched the bridge of his nose. "The rest of my children better not grow up as troublesome as those two," he muttered under his breath, but not quiet enough to escape the duo's hearing. They smirked at each other, more than a little embarrassed. "You shouldn't have access to any of that information, Minato-kun."

"Besides, me and Kushina have practically lived in your sealing room for the past week because you won't let us practice sealing anywhere else. Just because we're too young for infiltration and espionage missions doesn't mean we don't have any skills in the area."

"For that I should court-martial you for accessing information above your rank."

"The court-martial is just a formality and we'll only be promoted afterwards for actually being able to access it."

"Minato-kun—"

"If you don't want us getting information from the village, you could always send us on the infiltration mission into the trafficking ring that's been working through the villages a few miles away from Konoha. Fugaku submitted the mission request and we are officially the only team eligible so I'm sure he'll request us if I ask him. We can settle for the A-rank and take a different S-rank later."

"Of all the filthy tricks for you to pull, you chose that one. I should suspend you for blackmail."

Kushina shrugged. "We really want an S-rank. The other Jōnin keep teasing us about being kids so we gotta prove we're as good as them."

"Let me get this straight: you've been pestering me for high-ranked missions because of a little teasing from the other Jōnin."

The teens exchanged a glance, speaking in unison. "They try and do our mission reports for us and don't let us turn them in without help and they try and they always insist on walking us home and take all the good missions and won't train with us and keep insisting we're late for class at the Academy." Their words split into different run-on complaints, mostly about name-calling.

With a weary sigh, the Hokage put a hand on their heads. "That's enough."

They stopped speaking immediately.

"First off, they're only giving you a hard time because you're new. One or a dozen S-rank isn't going to change anything."

"But Jiji! They're being mean and they won't even listen when Minato tells them so!" Kushina whined, poking at the Hokage's side and pouting.

Minato nodded in agreement.

"So will the two of you stop pestering me for missions I don't want to give you?"

"We still want the S-rank," Minato deadpanned.

The Hokage's head fell back against the back of his chair with a loud crack and the ANBU guard stifled a laugh.

"Please, please, please, please, please, pretty please!" The two begged, tugging on his arms.

"If both your senseis from when you were Genin say yes, you can have it. If not, then you're not going to pester me for anything higher than a B-rank until you're eighteen, got it?"

"No promises!" Kushina called over her shoulder as they raced out whooping.

The Jōnin outside stumbled out of the way as they zipped past and split in opposite directions to find their senseis.


	31. Chapter 31

**Tag-Team Part 2**

 _Three hours later_

 **(~MINATO AND KUSHINA)**

Biwako and Jiraiya stood in front of the mission desk, very confused while the Hokage rubbed his temples. "Do the two of you know anything about common courtesy?"

"Of course I know how to curtsy! I actually passed the kunoichi class," Kushina protested.

"Why would I have to know how to curtsy? That's a girl thing!" Minato eyed the Hokage reproachfully.

Jiraiya had to hide his smile behind his hand while Biwako corrected them patiently.

"Courtesy not curtsy," she enunciated. "It means acting politely."

"It sounded like 'curtsy' to me," they mumbled.

"I don't think I was called here to correct vocabulary, what do you want, Sensei?" Jiraiya asked impatiently

"These two children think they are ready for an S-rank mission."

"We are Jiji! We're Jōnin now and you can't say no especially when we're the only team that can do it!" Kushina responded.

"If there isn't a legitimate reason to not give them the mission, they have to take it. What kind of mission is it?" Jiraiya asked reasonably.

"Why don't the two of you wait outside," Biwako said softly, guiding the two out the door and closing it in their faces. As soon as the door closed, they pressed Kushina's communication seals into each other's ears to amplify their hearing.

"They want an abduction and an assassination mission?" Jiraiya asked in disbelief. "I knew they were combing the S-ranks but—"

"They don't know assassination is part of the mission. I caught them before they could read any more than the first few lines," Hiruzen responded.

"They're qualified for it," Jiraiya shrugged after a second of thought. "If it'll teach them not to try and manipulate mission assignments then it will be worth a little emotional trauma in the end."

"They're still children," Biwako snapped. "Prodigies at that. Most children like them snap before they're eighteen and die before they're twenty. For once we can do right by a pair of happy shinobi child prodigies, whose biggest worry is hazing from a few jealous elders and you think we should throw them into the fire with all the others?"

"They can handle it. What I'm worried about is what happens when they get older and you can't shelter them anymore without sending them rogue in the end. What happens when you lose them in the hundreds of other shinobi walking through that door? They won't be coddled then and will be in for a brutal awakening. They're going to be among the best on the shinobi force and be doing the dirtiest missions out there. What happens when they realize you're the Kage of the village and not just the kind old man sitting in a fancy hat?"

"Jiraiya—" Biwako snapped at his impetuousness but the younger man ignored her.

"If you doubt their ability to complete the mission, send someone with them. I'll go with them if there's no one else. They need to know what they've signed up for as shinobi and sheltering them won't help. If they break, they need to break now so they can be put back together before it's too late. We all know there's a war on the horizon and this village will need ninjas to save it, not coddled children. If you can, you need to break them, and break them hard to be put back together before this war starts. We won't be able to afford losing them afterwards."

The eavesdroppers pressed together. While they might not have understood the full implications of the Jiraiya's words, they understood the tone.

"About the second mission you have on your desk from the Uchiha police. Everyone knows you have it. It's causing a lot of mistrust between those two and their comrades when you're see to be not trusting them with a mission they're ready for and babying them when it comes to mission content. They are the only team capable of it and you can't put it off much longer. Your choice is between the S and the A-rank, but give them one of them."

"They can deal with a little mistrust," Biwako snapped.

"If Kushina hadn't all but given up on her ambition for Hokage, Sensei would most likely be choosing between the two of them as his successor in a decade's time. If you're willing to foster the rift between them and the rest of the force, you'll only be hurting them in the long run and isolating them from everyone. If you really want to do right by them, let them prove themselves."

"You're right, but there's no way I'm sending them on the police's mission."

"We'll discuss that later. For now, bring them in and give them the mission."

The duo quickly took off the seals as the door opened and Jiraiya ushered them in.

"I'll give you the S-rank," the Hokage conceded, obviously hating every word he said. "For political purposes, I have to give you an A-rank as soon as you get back. Be sure not to injure yourselves on the mission."

They bounced on their toes in excitement despite the obvious reluctance and tension in the Hokage's voice.

"Jiraiya will be there to shadow you to assess your capabilities but will not be participating in the mission."

"So basically oomph," Minato clamped a hand over Kushina's mouth.

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Minato bowed, forcing Kushina to bow alongside him. Snatching the mission scroll before anyone could change their mind, Minato made a hand seal and the two vanished in a flash of yellow light.

"With a little maturity and training, that boy could make Hokage in no time. He has a head for politics," Biwako commented after they left. "That technique looked awfully familiar, what is it?"

"Those two gaki managed to recreate the Nidaime's Hiraishin no Jutsu," Jiraiya grumbled petulantly.

"That technique was lost when he died," Biwako deadpanned.

"It was. The only thing the Nidaime left behind was the seal formula. Teams have spent over a decade trying to recreate it. The two of them managed it in less than a month. When they were twelve," Jiraiya started to rant.

"They must've had help then."

"No, they locked themselves in my sealing room with a pillow and a bunch of ramen only to come out three weeks later with the jutsu's seal deciphered, altered to fit their purposes, and Minato covered from head-to-toe in sealing lines ready to try it out. They could've killed themselves yet the boy managed to do it on his second try! My only consolation was that he fell on Kushina and they got a face full of each other but—"

"Jiraiya," the Hokage interrupted before the younger man could start a rant of the unfairness of geniuses.

"What?"

"You have a second mission to prepare for, here is the scroll. Don't put it past that duo to leave without you." The Sandaime pulled a second S-ranked scroll out of his pocket

"They may be young, overeager, naïve, and immature, but they're not stupid or reckless. I have yet to see them bite off more than they can chew," Jiraiya responded, subdued. "If you can find time, you should take a mission with them or at least watch one of their spars, heck test them again yourself. Their teamwork is phenomenal."

"I'll see what I can do," the Hokage responded, but Jiraiya already Shunshined away.


	32. Chapter 32

**Tag-Team Part 3**

 **(MINATO AND KUSHINA)**

"Did you two pack everything?" Jiraiya asked as he approached the two hooded figures standing stiffly by the gate. The loose, gold-striped cloaks fit the role of Lightning perfectly. Not even their respective vibrant hair peeked out of the deep hoods.

"Affirmative," Minato responded curtly.

Jiraiya held back a flinch from how much older the boy sounded.

"Comms a go?" Kushina asked briskly

"Comms a go. Link secure?"

"Link secure. Move out?"

"Move out." They zipped through the gates, one behind the other.

By the end of their exchange, Jiraiya could not distinguish between the two of them. Hoping he would not have to spend the entire mission confused by their non-standard code, Jiraiya hurried after them. As they dashed through the treetops, Jiraiya noticed how they always touched when they ran. He was about to make them stop and force them into a safer, looser position when he noticed how they constantly switched positions. He pulled out a kunai to test their reaction to an attack, when he realized he could not see a pattern in their rotation.

As the sun dipped below the horizon behind them, Lightning gave no indication of stopping. Unsure of their plan, Jiraiya followed, shrinking the gap so as not to lose them in the dying light. In front of him, they moved as one person. Jiraiya helped them begin developing their Lightning persona, but he never imagined it to become so flawless and complete. He especially never expected the only ninjas he knew who could not tell a lie with a straight face to be able to pull it off. The entire night they raced through the treetops. When dawn broke, Lightning stopped suddenly, dropping to the ground. They stood still and silent, carefully watching their surroundings. With an unspoken signal, they slid kunai out of their cloaks and cut deeply into their palms. Before their fists closed over the gash, Jiraiya noticed deep scarring across their palms. With their non-bloodied hands, they unbuttoned the front of their cloaks, drawing seals on the other's sternum. The air around them blurred until they appeared to be a single ghostly specter crouched in the shadow of the tree. A minute later, the two vanished completely.

Jiraiya's eyes bugged out before they reappeared again, perfectly clear.

"You said it would work!" one of them protested. Jiraiya could not figure out who it was.

"It should've but I think the two seals cancelled each other out. Instead of two layers making it increasingly difficult for someone to see, one undid the other."

"I bet it looked cool from the outside."

"Until it totally failed."

"I think it's because we mixed the blood in both of them. This must be one of the odd seals where mixing blood doesn't stabilize the seal's base."

Jiraiya's eyes bugged out comically. "Alright you two this isn't funny anymore. Exactly what kind of experiments have you been doing with seals?" Jiraiya dropped in front of them. To his annoyance, neither flinched at his sudden appearance.

"Right, Jiji doesn't have time to listen to the things we want to attempt and we were supposed to talk to you about it."

On a whim, Jiraiya grabbed both of their wrists and attempted to find their pulse. When he was met with nothing, he crossed his arms, trying not to think about how they managed to cut themselves without dispelling the jutsu. "Where are the real you?"

They sat down stubbornly, arms crossed.

Jiraiya sat opposite them. "You are not in a very good position right now. First, you manipulate your way into getting a higher-ranked mission. The original reason you gave for doing so is understandable. You want to prove yourselves to your comrades. Now I find you've given me the slip to do who knows what! At the same time, I find out you've been attempting dangerous experiments with seals without permission! The two of you have betrayed a lot of trust so you better start explaining yourselves before I dispel the both of you and tell the Hokage about your little stunts!"

"We'll finish the mission sensei, that's all that matters to you. Neither you, nor the Hokage have any say in our training. We take precautions when we are experimenting with our seals and our first tests are on ourselves. When Hokage-sama actually does have time to listen to what we've been doing, he barely understands us."

"Making excuses now?"

"Does it really matter? You're just going to yell at us no matter what. There's no way you'll be able to catch up to our real selves. Meet us in the Uzushiogakure ruins in three weeks and we'll sort out the mess." A beat later, the two vanished in a puff of smoke.

The real Kushina tripped as the memories hit her. Minato stopped in his tracks and barely recovered in time to catch Kushina before she fell of the branch on which they stopped.

"We're in big trouble," Minato moaned.

"Come on, we've done worse," Kushina soothed.

"No, we haven't," Minato protested with a sigh. "Let's finish the mission and worry about it later."

"Right," She agreed quickly and reopened the scroll. "I don't think we should have asked for an S-rank. Did you read this scroll?"

"Yea, I read all the S-rank scrolls. Hokage-sama leaves his office practically wide open during his lunch break. Even though the mission says to kill the guy, he's been pinpointed as a leak in the security of the intelligence department so the interrogation department will to figure out how he got the information in the first place."

"Then why didn't Jiji put a note in here altering the mission?"

"He doesn't know about the leak. The intelligence department is keeping it hushed up for as long as possible. So, we're just delivering the target. The Chuunin Yamanaka Inoichi noticed the leak and told his Chuunin teammate Nara Shikaku about it. They were in the class above us in the Academy. I was playing a game of shogi with Shikaku-san and he mentioned it. Since it lined up with our plans to get an S-rank, I told him the leak was set to be assassinated soon so I offered that the two of us would take the mission since we were Jōnin and bring back the target for them to get what they could. All of that was supposed to be leverage to get the Hokage to give us the mission. Since our intel and connections would be better than his, he would have no other logical choice. Jiraiya-sensei got us the mission without us needing to use the leverage, so when I told Shikaku-san about it, he changed the plan to help all of us. We'll be taking the target to meet the Ino-Shika-Cho trio in Uzushiogakure; they'll get the information. After that, we'll all bring the target back to Konoha to face trial. For us, it will look really good on our record and everyone will know that we do our jobs better than anyone else, especially after that fiasco where a bunch of intelligence from spies got misdirected and misinterpreted. It will also show the Hokage that we can do a lot more than he's giving us and work with other people. If we play it right, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio will get promoted to Jōnin, which helps them for a variety of reasons."

"The mission says to assassinate the target. If we bring him back to Konoha for trial, he won't be dead and we'll have failed the mission."

"That's where technicalities come into play. The client said the target has to be dead, it did not specify how or when. You did the background on him and found out he is somehow technically still a citizen of Konoha, therefore everything he does against the village is considered treason. We have ample evidence for that, so he will be charged with treason and Konoha law says the punishment for it is death. In all, the client is happy, a leak is stopped, the village gets justice, and we're responsible for almost all of it."

Kushina gaped. "Why didn't you tell me about any of this sooner?"

"Because I only found out this morning and we were already in earshot of the Hokage."

"Why not when we left?"

"Because we were rushing to get out and moving before they noticed anything off."

"How are the Ino-Shika-Cho trio getting to Uzushiogakure?"

"They're on leave for the next few weeks, so I brought them right after I talked to Shikaku-san. We'll be getting there a day before we told Sensei to meet us, so hopefully, we'll have everything done and Sensei won't drag us back all tied up."

"Your plan better work."

"It's not my plan, it's Shikaku's and he's a real genius, so it will. One of the toads owes me a big favor so We'll be in and out of Kiri in less than two days." Minato held up the seal for the Hiraishin. "Ino-Shika-Cho are already in Uzu and the toad placed the seal a few minutes ago in Kiri."

"I don't know if I should castrate you for messing with me or kiss you right now for your genius."

"I would very much prefer a kiss," he replied immediately before he realized exactly what he just inadvertently insinuated. A second later, his face, ears, and neck glowing red with embarrassment, he took a step backwards and held out his arms defensively as Kushina smiled deviously at him.

"You're gonna get it for that comment, Namikaze."

Minato took another step back, prepared to flee the second she moved. When her chakra spiked, he used all of his speed to jump backwards off the branch, only to run into Kushina, who substituted with a leaf and slapped a chakra-binding seal on his back. When he turned around to push away from her, she slapped a paralysis seal on his chest. "Please don't kill me!" He squeaked as Kushina slammed him onto his back and sat on his stomach, precariously balancing both of them on the tree branch.

"Why shouldn't I?" She asked, leaning forward until their noses were almost touching. With a devilish grin at Minato's embarrassment and terror, quickly turning into his inability to breathe, she removed the seals, but did not move off him. She leaned even closer, making Minato go cross-eyed trying to see her. Breath tickled Minato's mouth as Kushina leaned even closer. Minato's lungs froze and his heart nearly stopped beating as she continued to draw closer. She kissed his nose softly and Minato's face turned even redder as she pulled away and stood up on the branch, holding her hand out to help him up. "Ready to go?" Kushina smirked, a light blush spreading across her own cheeks. "Jiraiya-sensei just found us—"

Minato scrambled to his feet, stumbling backwards, nearly hitting his head on the tree, eyes wide, stuttering incoherently. A blur of white hair caught Minato's eye and he gratefully focused on the distraction.

"Don't you dare move!" Jiraiya's angry shout jerked Minato out of his run-on blabbering, much to Kushina's amusement.

The blond shot to his feet and vanished in a flash of yellow light. Kushina shouted indignantly as Minato reappeared and grabbed her wrist, vanishing from their perch on the tree.

Kushina yelped as she and Minato found themselves falling off parallel to a low cliff towards water with a thin layer of ice over the top. While the fall wasn't high enough to be dangerous, it was still a nasty surprise. Minato managed to catch himself on the water with chakra and not break the ice, but as soon as Kushina's feet touched the ice, she misjudged the amount of chakra needed, melted the ice within a five-meter radius, and completely submerged herself as Minato readjusted the chakra he needed to stay on top of the water. Thankfully, he did not let go of her hand and dragged her into a low, perfectly hidden cave, but not before the water completely soaked her hair and clothes.

Minato automatically began helping her strip off the soaked cloak and threw it in the air to trap it in a powerful sphere of wind jutsu, mostly drying it in a few seconds.

"It's not winter!" Kushina complained as Minato tossed back the cloak, picked up the rest of her soaking clothes, threw them in the air and dried them the same way, all without looking at her. While she redressed in the dry clothes, Minato activated a barrier in the cave mouth.

"Channel chakra through your hair and it'll dry faster," Minato suggested, kneeling down behind the barrier to erase all signs of their presence.

"Why couldn't I do that with my clothes?" She asked, holding the cloak tightly around herself and shivering.

"You could have, but you would have burned them off your body. I don't know if it will work on your hair, but you won't burn it off because it's a part of you so it's worth a shot," Minato shrugged before going silent to concentrate.

"It worked," Kushina grumbled, even though she knew Minato could not answer. The ice she accidentally melted hardened back into the same shape it was before she crashed through it. A second later, she heard the odd pop all Minato's seals made whenever he deactivated them. A second pop indicated that Minato deactivated the barrier seal.

"No chakra until we make contact with the target," Minato stood up and pulled the hood over his head. According to intel, the target is formerly shinobi, correct?"

Kushina kicked back into mission mode. "Low Jōnin level. Defected from Amegakure to home twelve years ago, defected from home to Kirigakure one month ago. Bounty is two thousand ryo dead, five thousand ryo alive in Amegakure, not yet in the bingo book. Skills include minor Fūinjutsu, major affinity for lightning, known skill in fire and earth, minor skill in genjutsu, long-range fighter, and medium skill in traps. Both of us have affinities for wind, which will neutralize the target's lightning affinity. We both know some water, so we can neutralize his fire. The problem will be his earth abilities, but since we are both pretty good at wind, it shouldn't be much of a problem. Our skill in Fūinjutsu far outstrips him, and your skill in sensing will notice any traps he can lay. To automatically dispel any genjutsu, we should use the connection seal, which will force him to trap both of us at once or not at all, which only very skilled Genjutsu users like the Uchiha can perform. You can attach seal tags to your kunai to get closer before we engage. Did I miss anything?"

"What about Taijutsu skill?"

"He uses the standard Advanced Konoha style mixed with a simple version of the Amegakure Kenjutsu style. Considering my fighting style makes me faster than almost every Jōnin at home, any you've been faster than them all for ages, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Plan: since you got first hit last mission, it's my turn this time. You make the barrier to keep him contained and stop any accomplices he might have. I'll engage first and get close with Hiraishin. You put the chakra seal on when his back is turned. While you engage, I'll place the paralysis seal over the chakra seal, which will overload both and knock him out."

"Things won't go that simply," Kushina reminded him.

"I know, but we'll adapt from there."

"How do you know where he is?"

Minato tapped his head. "I told the toad who placed the seal to get me as close to the target as he could and right now, he's three kilometers directly east."

"Are you sure? Never mind, you're always sure. Do we have to go through the tunnel?"

"No, but since the toad made it special for us to get safely to his front yard, it would be simpler."

"I don't like caves and I won't be able to see."

Minato pulled her onto his back and began running through the tunnel, ducking to avoid the uneven ceiling and jumping over bumps in the floor.

"I hate it when you run blind," Kushina quietly breathed her complaint as Minato stopped.

"Target is at two o'clock, crouched, five meters away. I no one else is around. You go first, throw my kunai with the tag and make the barrier. On your mark."

"Three," Kushina moved her feet to Minato's shoulders and pressed a hand against the ceiling. "Two, Kushina took the kunai Minato handed her. "One," She finished, making the tunnel ceiling explode up, leaping into the air and throwing the kunai in the direction Minato said their target crouched. The target deflected it automatically, but Minato unexpectedly stopped the katana in a flash of yellow light and used a second kunai to slice at his face. The target blocked it with a kunai, but Minato never bothered to finish the blow, instead, he turned the strike towards the target's hand holding the sword and pushing him back with his superior weight.

"You're not hunter-nin. Who are you?" The target demanded.

"I am Lightning," Minato activated a seal to produce a flash of yellow light which masked his movements long enough for him to drop to the ground and kick the target's legs out from under him. The target smoothly bent backwards to suddenly compensate for the sudden lack of balance and flipped back onto his feet, swinging his katana at Minato in the process. Minato fell on the blade, trapping it on the ground and wrenching it out of the target's hand.

"A kid like you isn't Lightning. I used to live in Konoha, I would know. Now who are you really?"

Setting off a second seal at the same time as Kushina, who jumped up behind the man, Minato disappeared into the ground with the man's katana, dug underneath and passed it off to Kushina as she slapped the chakra seal on the man's back a split second before placing the blade at his throat. "Fast as lightning," she intoned, her voice identical to Minato's. A second flash and Minato stood up from the ground to stand beside the target and continuing to hold the katana at the target's neck.

"Strong as lightning," Minato continued, his voice beginning to reverberate in the air. After a third flash, Kushina appeared on his opposite side as Minato disappeared in his own flash.

"And untraceable," Kushina finished, as Minato placed the second seal and the target collapsed. "That was too easy," She said worriedly, as soon as she was sure the target was unconscious.

"All of the traps are on the perimeters and on the house. We just got lucky," Minato explained, looking around.

"I guess the only way out now is the Hiraishin," Kushina noted as she looked at the glowing seals on the gate beginning to spread across the yard. Minato grabbed her arm and their target's neck before appearing between two half-destroyed buildings.

"Minato-kun!" Someone yelped a few feet away. "We weren't expecting you until tomorrow!"

"Yes, we're ahead of schedule, Inoichi-san. Do you have somewhere set up yet for an interrogation?"

Minato tossed back his hood and took off the cloak, stuffing it into a seal hidden on his hem of his jacket.

Kushina mimicked him.

"I always expect you two to be taller," Inoichi grumbled as he looked down at the two, barely a year younger than him, yet a head shorter.

Kushina balled her fists at the comment.

"We got the place set up over here," Inoichi slung the man over his shoulder and led them around the corner to a mostly-intact meeting room.

Shikaku and Chōza sat playing a game of shogi. "You're early," Shikaku stated, sounding annoyed. "Now, I'm not going to get to finish my game. I guess that Lightning moniker is more than just a light show."

"How did you know we were Lightning?" Kushina demanded, impressed, but annoyed.

"Probably noticed how we were always gone during Lightning's missions, read one of our files with skill sets on it, made a guess, and you confirmed it," Minato explained.

"And you both always have soot on your faces from flash bangs. Have you ever thought of using lightning jutsus? It'll add a little more credibility to the persona."

"No, that's what everyone will expect. We're a hit-and-run team, not front-line fighters just yet," Minato said and wordlessly pointed to their unbound captive.

Inoichi and Chōza quickly dragged him to a chair to the center of the room while Shikaku cleaned up the shogi game. "If the two of you set up a sound barrier and stand guard, we'll be good to go ahead with the interrogation on the traitor."

Minato tensed, nodded, and then knelt to begin drawing a seal on the ground with a jar of ink and quill he seemed to produce out of nowhere. Kushina pulled out her own pen to speed the process.

"It will activate as soon as we are out of the room and if something goes wrong, one of us will make it flash to alert you in case we can't handle it," Kushina explained, voice dull. "It's one-way so once you leave you won't be able to re-enter."

"Are you two okay? You don't look very good," Inoichi asked while Shikaku returned to the prisoner.

"Here's the scroll of the information we have to find out for the S-rank," Minato pressed it into Inoichi's hand.

"Are you two okay?" Inoichi asked again, grabbing their arms before they could leave. "We're going to be in here for awhile and can't afford to have you compromised in any way."

"We're just not looking forwards to listening to you guys torture a guy. It's one of the side effects of the seal. We hear everything that happens inside."

"Is there another seal you can use?"

"We could put up a total isolation seal, but there will be no contact at all between us. It's just an unnecessary risk," Minato shrugged.

"Can you make a new seal without the side effect?"

"Probably," Kushina responded.

"How long will it take you two?"

"It's just a few alterations, so it will take less than a week at most," Kushina bit her lip, already thinking through ways to alter the seal.

"The mission is scheduled to last exactly a month, correct?" Inoichi responded thoughtfully.

Minato nodded.

"It should take Shika and I about a week to break him, we should figure for one week of extra time, in case someone messed with the guy's head. That leaves two weeks before we need to be back in Konoha. Figuring in a buffer for the travel time, you have three days to make a new. Scrap this seal and we'll put up a standard containment shield around the prisoner." Inoichi moved his hands to their shoulders and led them to a rickety table set up behind the prisoner. "Now get to work. My team will keep guard."

Minato took a few handfuls of sand from the floor and spread it on the table. Kushina automatically started sketching out the seal, discussing their options for the alterations.


	33. Chapter 33

**Tag-Team Part 4**

 **(INOICHI)**

"Those two have never been on an interrogation mission before," Inoichi said as soon as he made a simple privacy jutsu around his teammates. "I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't even had their first kill yet. They're scared of something too."

Chōza munched on a chip thoughtfully. "I saw them sparring with their teammates a few years ago when we were all genin. It was two against five and I think it was their first time ever fighting together. They won against opponents superior in almost every way. Their skills when they're together are on par with the best of the Jōnin right now. If they're forced to it, I'm pretty sure they could handle one of the Sannin and win with a handful of luck. Unless they're in some deep trouble with the Hokage, they have nothing to fear from anyone."

"Kushina-san is the Hokage's daughter in all but blood and Minato-san has the Hatake, Uchiha, Hyuuga, our clans, and all three of the Sannin publicly supporting him. Unless they blatantly defied orders or committed treason, there isn't any trouble a well-said explanation can't get them out of," Shikaku reasoned.

"I'm not worried about why they're scared, I'm worried about the fact that this is clearly their first exposure to an interrogation," Inoichi snapped.

"There is no way the Hokage would send them on an S-rank with their experience unless they were the only team eligible for an S-rank which they shouldn't be. They've only been Jōnin for a few months," Shikaku sighed, attention on the two seal masters working.

"We're talking about them like they're a couple of kids," Chōza noted. "From what I know, they're more articulate than us. Why don't we just ask them what's wrong like we would any other shinobi? Who knows, it might be something as simple as a Jōnin getting carried away while hazing them."

"If the hazing really bothered them, they would be lashing out at us and bossing us around or at least acting like they have something to prove." Inoichi reasoned. "Someone hurt them a lot deeper than that. The problem isn't superficial."

"It's a problem between them and someone they're close to," Shikaku's head snapped up as the pieces began to fall together. "There's no way the Hokage would send them on this mission alone." Shikaku mumbled through a list of names and reasoning before he made his conclusion, "Most likely, Jiraiya-san was shadowing them. He probably fell for the decoy and confronted them about it. Since they're here early, they probably used Minato's flash technique to get away from him."

"Minato and Jiraiya don't get along very well," Chōza said through a handful of granola bars.

"The two of them tensed when you called the prisoner a traitor," Inoichi remembered.

"That doesn't mean anything, they're as loyal as they come," Chōza countered.

"They regularly don't follow orders and never act according to the rules. Maybe they stepped over the line," Inoichi defended.

"They have no reason to be loyal to the village." Shikaku interrupted. "After Kushina-san's status as a Jinchuuriki was leaked among the shinobi force, she got a lot of hate. The village never liked Minato, even if no one knows why. They're practically joined at the hip, so between the two of them, they don't get very many warm welcomes. One of those warm welcomes is the Uchiha, who are very unhappy with the village."

"Are you seriously accusing them of turning traitor?" Chōza demanded.

"No!" Shikaku snapped back before Chōza finished. "I'm saying if someone accused them of being a traitor, I'm almost certain they would believe the accusation."

"Just because I convinced them oranges gave blonds nightmares last year doesn't mean they're that gullible."

"Think about it, neither of them are from Konoha. Both have somewhat of a negative reputation, and both break a lot of rules. It wouldn't take much to convince them they took something too far. Look at this." Shikaku held out a scroll for the other two to read.

All three thoughtfully looked over at the duo working on the seal after finishing the scroll.


	34. Chapter 34

**Tag-Team Part 5**

 _Seven hours later_

 _Ino-Shika-Cho team: Their role as a team was never greatly explained. I turned them into an investigation, capture, and interrogation team. Inoichi is in the interrogation department and his skills in interrogation are said to be exemplary. Chōza is their power aspect, defending his teammates while they interrogate and attacking as their front line. Even though he is the power behind the team, he is much more sensitive and understanding to others, which aligns with his character. Shikaku's shadows make up the capture aspect of the team and his intelligence makes everything else work._

 **(-)**

"Why don't we use the compass as a base instead? The spiral makes us a part of the seal but the compass will only use our chakra to make it."

"That would work, but it will mean entirely rewriting the seal. We could do that in time if we take out the part that keeps sound from coming in."

"Then we can put a second isolation seal outside of it and connect it to the silence seal. When the silence seal comes down, the isolation will too, but we can take the isolation seal down without dismantling the silence seal."

"Let's turn the matrix into a spiral and then we will be able circulate the sound. It might sound a little eerie inside but it'll take less chakra and we will be able to maintain it for longer."

"We'll be able to maintain it for at least a month even without that, but let's include it anyways."

"Great, let's draw it on paper then activate it." Kushina used a simple wind jutsu to blow the sand with their sketches off the table and replaced it with a large scroll held down by two inkwells. "We'll use ink so it won't be connected to us at all."

Minato pulled a quill out of his kunai pouch and began drawing the seal. Three minutes later, they finished.

"It's simple and a little crude but it'll work!" Kushina pumped her fist in the air, accidentally flinging drops of ink on Minato's face.

He wiped them off impassively before flinging twice as much at Kushina.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Kushina spat, one of the droplets landing on her tongue.

"That was payback!" Minato retorted, dodging Kushina's retaliation.

"Hey! You're going to mess up the seal!" Chōza protested, snatching Minato's quill while Inoichi did the same with Kushina's.

"We're not going to mess it up. The paper only takes ink if a pen is touching it at the same time. Why do you think no one cares if a sealing room is a total mess?" Minato explained, taking his quill back faster than anyone's eyes could follow. Kushina held out her hand expectantly to Inoichi.

"Troublesome, have you finished the seal?" Shikaku demanded, seeming incredibly displeased with the bantering.

"Of course we finished the seal!" Kushina snapped, grabbing for her quill, which Inoichi moved out of her reach.

"Does it work?" Shikaku asked, eyes flickering between the Jōnin.

"Of course it works! We connected the seal to you so only you can activate and deactivate it." Minato snapped. Shikaku stepped forward to look at it. "It doesn't matter how much you know about sealing, you won't be able to decipher it."

"Why not?" Shikaku challenged.

"It's not standard sealing, it's a style Kushina and I made up."

"You can't make up styles."

Kushina stepped in front of him, beginning to get angry. "Who is the best at sealing in this room, possibly in the world?"

"I would guess Minato," Inoichi volunteered. Kushina turned towards him, arm raised. Minato caught her around the waist as she lunged, sending her face first towards the ground. She spun in midair, ninja reflexes taking over and grabbed Minato, dragging him down with her. A quick scuffle ended with Minato sitting on Kushina's stomach and pinning her arms while her heels dug into his neck.

"No knocking allies out on missions, remember?" Minato wheezed.

"He deserved it!"

"Probably, but you still agreed to follow the rule." Minato bent backwards and kicked himself into a handstand before landing on his feet.

"He deserved it," Kushina maintained, allowing Minato to pull her back to her feet.

"Then you're free to punish him however you see fit, but only once the mission is over."

"Hey!" Inoichi protested. Minato looked at him and shrugged.

"And you shouldn't be picking fights."

"You know, I'm pretty sure there's some law about sending couples out on the same mission," Inoichi noted, smirking when they jerked their hands away from each other as though burned.

"Do you have a death wish?" Shikaku asked curiously.

Kushina stepped forward and seemed to measure Inoichi's head. "He'll fit nicely in that box of funny kunai you have under your bed," she observed to Minato.

"I hope that was the only box you went through," he responded darkly.

"No, I read the scrolls," her tone turned deadly serious.

Minato turned towards the three older ninja. "The seal will work. Kushina and I will set up an isolation barrier so you can't sense anything outside of this room. When you're done, take down the seal and our barrier will come down with it. If we have a problem, we'll take down the isolation barrier." Minato pulled Kushina out of the room by the wrist, leaving them speechless.

"Onto our job," Shikaku recovered first and activated the seal while Minato and Kushina activated their seal outside of the boundaries, cutting off everything else.

"How and when did you read them?" Minato demanded, activating a copy of the seal he left with Shikaku in his pocket so their voices would not carry.

"First, why would you steal village records?" Kushina retorted.

"I couldn't let them just destroy them like it all never existed!"

"You should've told—"

"Told who? I was nine. How many people gave you any attention at that age? You may be the last of your clan with a talent for seals, but I was an orphan kid with more blood on my hands than most Genin."

"Minato—"

"Why did you read them?"

"I've told you everything about when I was little, but the most you tell me are little snippets: someone said this or someone else did that. There are giant blank spots in your history that no one knows about, -ttebane! I asked Sakumo-san about where you were and what you did while you were supposed to be in the Academy, but he didn't know anything! I saw you and him walking down the street all the time during those years, but he didn't remember any of it. I even asked Jiji, and he told me to stay out of it, he even threatened me if I didn't, -ttebane!" Throughout her rant, her voice steadily rose until Kushina found herself shrieking in Minato's face. He just stood there, trembling with unnamable emotions.

"You didn't even stop to think I didn't want anyone to know," he accused softly.

"That's bullshit," she snapped back. "If you really didn't want anyone to know, you would have hidden them better and given them at least a little protection."

Minato's anger surfaced like ash blown off live coals. "I trusted you to leave them be!"

"Minato—"

"Don't talk to me like that, like you still care—" Minato shouted.

"Then what do you expect me to do?" Kushina stomped her foot, hair whipping furiously behind her.

"You're not the monster. Do you know why I'm so sure of that? It's because I know what a monster is, I'm what a monster really is! I killed two people before I was five years old. I killed nearly twenty, before I even graduated the Academy! I didn't want you to know because that's who I am. I'm not the kind, honest, innocent person you think I am."

She slapped him, her hand whipping forward too fast to see. "That's not true –ttebane." Minato reeled from the unexpected blow, falling to his hands and knees, jaw clearly broken.

 _You broke my jaw!_ Minato signed before he tried to probe the extent of the damage.

"You damn well deserved it –ttebane!" She kicked him in the side, much harder than necessary. The sound of his ribs snapping made Kushina pause in worry before her anger returned, redoubled. She tried to kick him again, but he grabbed her foot and used the momentum of the strike to roll back to his feet, dislocating his elbow in the process. She marched towards him as he retreated, explaining exactly how wrong he was with a crippling lack of eloquence. Her pupils narrowing into vertical slits, she moved to hit him again, but Jiraiya caught her wrist before it could land.

"Enough, Kushina," Jiraiya said as she yelped and jerked away from him, eyes returning to normal.

 _How did you get past the seal?_ Minato demanded. It took Jiraiya a second to recognize the ANBU signs the two were not supposed to know. Minato repeated himself.

"That's for me to know and you to wonder, same for how I snuck up on you."

"You aren't supposed to be here for another day and a half," Kushina snapped.

"You really underestimate me," Jiraiya pouted.

Minato leaned back against the wall Kushina against which Kushina cornered him. Jiraiya caught the blond before he could pitch sideways and land on his hurt side.

"You're not mad at us," Kushina observed as he lowered the boy to the ground.

"I am a little bit, but not for the reasons you're thinking," he responded, realigning Minato's broken jaw with a disgusting snap. Minato yelped and knocked Jiraiya's hands away. "Easy does it, gaki, I know you're upset but you don't have to take it out on me." Minato glared at him and touched the back of his neck, having already figured out most of what Jiraiya had done. A puff of smoke rose from the collar of his jacket. "Fine, you have every right to be mad at me, but not to take it out on me when I'm finally going to help you."

 _Leave me alone; I can heal myself._ Minato stood up and marched away, hunched over his injuries.

Kushina opened her mouth to continue scolding him, but Jiraiya grabbed her wrist. "Let him go," he ordered, not even flinching under her withering gaze. "You know better than to bring personal issues on a mission."

"You accused us of being traitors, what changed?" Kushina demanded.

"You're still referring to the two of you as one when he's obviously betrayed you."

"Don't change the subject, what changed?"

Jiraiya pulled out the S-ranked mission scroll. "I was just making sure you knew what you were doing. I now know that I have no reason to be worried."

"You were spying on us –ttebane!"

"I'm an espionage specialist. If an upstart like you had a chance at hiding something from me, I wouldn't bother."

"Really?"

"Look who's changing the subject."

"I thought you were going to kill us before. What changed your mind?" She demanded, crossing her arms.

"I was a little frustrated you didn't think I was worth sharing your plans with but I wasn't mad at you for it. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing. Minato didn't miss a beat when he told me to meet you here so I figured he already had something worked out. Then I remembered that Minato has a habit of unintentionally attracting trouble so I hurried to get here, if only to assure you didn't step on my own mission."

"Which is?"

"To make sure you don't kill your prisoner and you bring him back to stand trial. Now, keep watch while I go make sure Minato doesn't get himself into any trouble walking off during a mission."

"He better not—"

"I don't like assigning blame, but that was all on you Kushina. This time I'm not just fishing for information when I tell you this. You're the first person he's trusted and really cared for since his parents died. He doesn't care that you read the scrolls, he probably knew exactly when you did. What upsets him is that you waited until now to talk about it."

"What?"

"He wants to talk about what happened and he chose you. If he didn't want those scrolls found, they wouldn't be, trust me. He can figure almost anything out on his own, given enough time. For some reason he can't figure this out. He picked you to help him Kushina, and instead of helping, you chewed him out and beat him bloody. He didn't see that as punishment for his messed-up perspective, he chalked it down as punishment for his past. You can thrash him within an inch of his life, he deserves it for thinking like that, but it won't change anything. Think on that and keep watch for your friends." He turned away and marched after Minato. Kushina stared after him, numb after Jiraiya's dressing-down.


	35. Chapter 35

**Tag-Team Part 6**

 **(-)**

Minato barely made it out of sight and under the remnants of a porch before the tears burning his eyes leaked out. "Leave me alone," he growled as Jiraiya sat down beside him.

"Not a chance, gaki," the older man responded, laying a gentle hand on the boy's back.

"Please," Minato tried.

"I've know you long enough to see when you need to talk to someone. Your normal confidant just beat you over the head for being quite the hypocrite."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"That hurts," Jiraiya whined comically.

Against his will, Minato smiled slightly.

"Now, what's the problem?"

"Do you remember my clan's civil wars?"

"I don't think I'll ever forget them."

"Do you remember what I did in them?"

"That's top secret stuff, Minato, but they told me everything when I became your sensei."

"Full disclosure?" Minato asked.

"Yes, Jonin Senseis have to know everything about their students, for obvious reasons," Jiraiya answered. "But we've already had this conversation; you gave permission for me to know."

"That means you also know that the clan destroyed every record of what happened including the memories of everyone involved, excepting me and the Sandaime."

"I know."

"I stole the summary of the wars and the lists of who participated and what they did."

"I know."

"What?"

"Sakumo-san guessed you did something like that after the destruction order which consequently disowned you. Your clan never tried to track down the scrolls, even though they knew."

"Kushina read them. I hid them under my bed and locked everyone but her out of the room. She hates reading so I didn't think she would touch them."

"I told her to read them."

"Why would you do something like that?" Minato demanded, jerking away from him.

"She asked why you avoided talking about your past. I just told her where to look for answers."

"You had no right—"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't but I don't regret it the slightest."

Minato glared at him, his hands trembling in anger.

"I won't try and guess why you never told her anything about the wars, but its secrets like that which destroy friendships and teams. You're one team no one wants to see fall apart."

"You had no right to interfere."

"It's been done and I wouldn't change it if I could. Now, you know better than to allow personal issues on a mission. You and Kushina are supposed to be on guard so go do it. Set up camp while you're at it."

Minato turned on his heel and walked away angrily.

After a few minutes, Jiraiya followed and found the camp almost fully made. Kushina knelt in front of a shallow pit, piling wood to make a fire. Minato lay out two sleeping bags almost four feet away from the fire while a third one lay on the opposite side of the fire. Jiraiya lay down on the isolated sleeping bag.

"No fires on missions above a B-rank," he reminded Kushina. Minato threw a scroll at him in answer.

"Jiji said it was okay as long as we used that," Kushina answered impatiently.

Jiraiya opened the scroll. Two concentric circles with the Kanji for fire in the center, directly below it and slightly smaller was the Kanji for heat, all of which lay boldly on the page. The solid, smooth lines connecting the two circles made it seem as though the seal continuously spun.

A second later, Kushina snatched it out of his hand and held it over the firewood. The Sannin protested until the fire lit with a muffled sound, instantly incinerating the scroll, but leaving the ink hovering above the flames. Wincing at the impossible amount of heat washing over him, Jiraiya dragged himself further away from the fire, immediately noting the lack of smoke and the barely perceptible light.

"How did you make a seal like that? There are too many variables to make anything effective."

"We call it an absolute seal. Everything in its area is completely under the seal's domain and all variables are excluded," Minato explained.

"How did you make something like that work?"

"Not telling," Kushina snapped. "Then you'll try it and probably die like we almost did. This is the only design that works and we quit experimenting with them when it nearly killed us for the third time."

"You know what: I don't want to know anymore," Jiraiya gave up and lay down on his sleeping bag. "Enjoy your watch, I'm sleeping until the rest of your unofficial team finishes their job." To avoid waking Jiraiya, Minato and Kushina switched to signing to each other.

 _Why did you ask Jiraiya about my past?_ Minato asked immediately.

Kushina hesitated before answering, _I just wanted to know. You talk about when you were little, your parents, what your clan was like, even how you used to avoid the Academy but you never told me anything about what happened. I knew your parents were assassinated, I knew everything you felt and thought about it, but I still don't know what happened or why. Even I can tell you still haven't come to terms with any of what happened with your clan and I didn't want you to feel alone when you finally wanted to talk about it._

 _So you went behind my back instead of asking me directly?_ Minato pulled his knees to his chest.

 _I did ask you. You wouldn't answer._

 _Were you ever going to tell me you knew?_

 _Were you ever going to tell me what happened?_ Kushina crawled over to kneel behind Minato and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her head on his. _I think you would have eventually, but not for years and I was too curious to wait._

 _I wasn't going to ever tell you,_ Minato replied honestly.

 _Normally I'm the one who's really dense in situations like this, but I think that title goes to you right now._ "No matter what you have said or done, I'm not going to think any worse of you," Kushina promised aloud. "Cross my heart," she hugged him tighter as silent tears dripped onto her arms. Minato allowed himself to relax against her. I only read the scroll on the first war. She confessed. When I realized exactly what I was reading, I stopped.

Minato turned around and hugged her back tightly. "Thank you," he breathed.

"Keep your libido at reasonable levels during the mission," Jiraiya grunted, opening one eye to see their reactions to his statement.

Both looked at him, not understanding his insinuation.

"Get a dictionary. Are you sure you're a genius, Minato-kun?"

Kushina pulled a dictionary out of one of her storage seals.

"Do you take the entire village with you?" Minato asked in surprise.

"You'll never know," She smirked, flipping through the book to find the word. "EHH?" She shrieked as she read the definition. "He is so going to pay for that comment! I'm telling Tsunade-san!"

Minato jerked the book out of her hands to see for himself. His face turned tomato red while he snapped the book shut and shoved it back at Kushina. Noting his embarrassment, Kushina leaned forward with a devious grin and kissed him on the cheek. If possible, Minato reddened even further while Jiraiya ogled them.

"I thought you said you were going to sleep!" Kushina smirked.

Jiraiya grumbled unintelligibly while Minato's face flamed even brighter as the temperature began to drop from the lack of sunlight.

"Hey Minato, who's doing the first patrol?" Kushina asked as if nothing happened.

"I'll do it," he volunteered, slightly faster than what could be considered natural and shot to his feet.

Kushina shrugged and flopped backwards, sprawling across both of their sleeping bags. "Wake me in an hour."

Minato walked around the barrier, automatically spreading his senses to detect possible threats and actively trying to shut out the previous conversation from his memory. A familiar chakra signature drew his attention, successfully distracting him from his previous thoughts. Minato instantly hid himself as the silver-haired man stepped into view at the end of the street.

As he strode towards the barrier, Minato circled around behind him and, with a speed to rival the Hiraishin, appeared behind the man, ready to break his neck. "Name, rank, and village?" Minato demanded in a low voice.

"Hatake Sakumo, Jonin of Konohagakure. Yours?"

"Lightning. No rank or village."

"You're quite small for someone with so much fame."

"You're quite slow for someone with your reputation," Minato rebutted as he released the older man.

Before Sakumo could turn around, Minato had already pulled out his cloak and put it on, completely obscuring his true identity.

"You're a child!" Sakumo exclaimed as he looked down at Minato's stature.

"Why are you here?"

"I have a message for a man by the name of Jiraiya."

"I will deliver it," Minato stated.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, no matter how familiar you seem."

"Familiar? I don't believe we've met before now."

"I'm sure we have, without your cloak and hood."

"I think I would remember meeting The White Fang."

Sakumo took a sudden step forward as though we was about to lunge for Minato. The boy remained still for a second longer. When Sakumo's hand twitched, Minato replaced himself with a handful of roof tiles, which shattered as four kunai passed through them and their flight adjusted to fly towards Sakumo. The older man's hands flashed together as he muttered the technique under his breath and lightning erupted around Minato, intending to trap him. Minato let off a flash seal at his feet and cut away the lightning entrapping him. From a distance, it would have appeared lightning countered lightning, closer, and it would have appeared as though Minato used fire, but Sakumo was too close to be fooled as the wind ripped through his jutsu.

"Impressive for a kid," Sakumo commented as they backed away from each other. "You talk as if you're faking your speech pattern."

Minato flinched as the genius began to pick apart his disguise. "Then what do I really sound like?"

With a quick shunshin, Sakumo appeared behind Minato and attempted to knock him out from behind, but Minato grabbed his wrist and attempted to throw him off the roof. Sakumo stood his ground with the help of chakra and the two engaged in a flurry of untraceable blows. After ten seconds, both recoiled, nursing a collection of bruises on Sakumo's part, and a number of deep cuts on Minato's part.

He pressed his hand over the worst of them, stumbling away.

Frowning, Sakumo pursued him.

"Henge!" Minato said emotionlessly and transformed into himself.

Sakumo tensed.

"Just because he is on a mission, does not mean I don't know where he is," Minato said without expression. "Henge!" Minato transformed into Sakumo's late wife, Kaori. "Just because I have not met you, does not mean I don't know who you are."

Sakumo took a step backwards, towards Jiraiya.

"Henge!" Minato transformed into Sakumo's son. "I don't think I need to say anything for this one. Deliver your message. Do not look around and leave immediately." Minato pointed behind Sakumo. The man turned around and slowly walked in the direction Minato pointed. As soon as the man's back was turned, Minato vanished with his Hiraishin and reappeared beside Kushina. She woke immediately and helped Minato erase all traces of their camp without waking Jiraiya. She did not question why until they perched on top of the isolation barrier and Minato hid them with a clever, but flimsy Genjutsu.

Kushina started as Sakumo appeared between two buildings and immediately caught sight of Jiraiya sleeping. Sakumo cleared his throat to wake the Sannin. "You're sleeping while Lightning is in close proximity to you?" Sakumo asked as Jiraiya sat up, grumbling.

"We have somewhat of an agreement," Jiraiya answered warily. "What does Sensei want now? A brat shouldn't make you so tense."

"I just met Lightning, who threatened my family. Hokage-sama told me to deliver these and await orders."

"Don't worry about the threats, Lightning won't follow through."

Sakumo glared as Jiraiya read the scrolls.

Minato flinched as Kushina pinched him. "Did you even threaten yourself?" She murmured into his ear.

"I had to; otherwise he would have known it was me!" Minato retorted under his breath.

"He's going to be so mad if he finds out it was you!"

"I hope he doesn't."

"Oi, gaki! Get down here, you just got another mission!"

Minato stiffened.

"You are in so much trouble!" Kushina hissed in his ear as she pulled on her cloak. In a heartbeat, Kushina appeared in front of Sakumo and Jiraiya while Minato appeared behind Sakumo.

Jiraiya smirked. "Hoods down, you two are going undercover to break up a smuggling ring that uses baby ninjas for their dirty work. Sakumo-san just brought the mission."

Kushina tossed back her hood, grinning mischievously. Sakumo's eyes narrowed. "Lightning is a part of Konoha?" He asked warily

"Yep!" Kushina answered cheerfully. "Jiji didn't want us giving away our real identities until we have more experience so we made up Lightning to get experience."

"Who all knows about your…persona?"

"Jiji, Jiraiya-sensei, and Biwako-sensei."

Sakumo turned around and glared at Minato, who scratched the back of his head nervously. "Sorry about threatening you. I'm not supposed to reveal my identity and you were about to figure it out."

"You threatened to kill yourself," Sakumo deadpanned.

"It worked. You're just mad I tricked you," Minato responded defensively.

"Sakumo-san, are you sure this is the scroll sensei gave you, unread and unaltered?" Jiraiya asked seriously holding up the A-ranked mission scroll.

"I have not read it and it has not left my possession."

"What's wrong with the mission?" Kushina asked, hopping over to stand beside Minato.

Jiraiya glanced over at them before refocusing on the scroll. Kushina nudged Minato with her elbow and he vanished for a brief second before reappearing with the scroll in his hands.

"What does it say?" Kushina asked, stepping slightly between Minato and the adults to make it difficult for them to snatch back.

"Patience, I still can't read very fast! It says we are supposed to infiltrate a criminal organizations… led by Jonin-level missing-nin disguised as unskilled and unsupervised Genin. How are we supposed to do this? Even a civilian can tell we have too much chakra for Genin, Kushina has almost as much as Hokage-sama. It would be more convincing to send actual Genin." Minato glanced between the adults.

Jiraiya pinched the bridge of his nose. "The two of you are literally the only Konoha shinobi capable of this mission."

"How so?" Kushina asked.

"First, you both look young for your age and with a little practice, you can appear even younger. Second, you are skilled enough to compete with Jonin if needed, at least until backup is able to arrive, you could probably hold me off for long enough to get away. Third, both of you are too hard-headed to be brainwashed or manipulated, but smart enough to appear so."

Minato and Kushina exchanged a panicked glance.

"Yes, I noticed you both putting up a very good I'm-a-gullible-child-who-will-do-anything-you-tell-me act and told the Hokage. There are a handful of deep cover seals to put your chakra at Genin level and dull your senses. Not to mention, the two of you have some sort of psychic connection and know your limits surprisingly well, even without experience."

"Jiji told us most of that when we made Jonin. If we are supposed to be Genin where's our third teammate?" Kushina asked.

"It will be Uchiha Fugaku. The Uchihas issued the mission and they want someone who knows what's going on. The question is: do the two of you trust him as backup?"

"Why wouldn't I trust him?" Minato asked, confused.

"You know full well that clan has a lot of bad blood in the village," Jiraiya snapped. "Fugaku is a good kid but he is set to be clan head in a few years. If he believed any differently from the rest of the clan, he would be passed over."

Minato opened his mouth to retort but shook his head instead. "Think what you want about him. He's a good teammate."

Kushina adopted a thickly sarcastic tone, "Besides, it's better to put an Uchiha on a team with the demon girl and a foreigner so the enemy is all in one place. I'm surprised they haven't forced us to live on the Uchiha compound yet—"

"Kushina!" Jiraiya snapped, appalled. "That's not how it is!"

"That's exactly how it is," Minato retorted sharply. "Why do you think the Uchiha insist that their own take missions they issue? Why do you think Kushina and I never accept missions where we have to work with other shinobi?"

"Is that the real reason you wanted this particular mission?"

The two suddenly shifted uncomfortably.

"You didn't beg the Sandaime for the mission to prove your worth to the other Jōnin, you asked for it to prove your loyalty."

Kushina crossed her arms defensively, but both appeared slightly abashed.

"I suppose trying to make you two tell me the entire story straight isn't going to work."

"Where is Fugaku-san now?"

"As soon as you report back to the village he will meet you for the mission," Sakumo answered before leaving without another word.

"My mission was to make sure you knew to return the target to Konoha for trial. I won't hinder your operations any longer," Jiraiya told them softly as he packed his camp. He followed Sakumo in silence.

"We'll have hell to sort out when this is over," Kushina commented softly to Minato. "Now all we can do is wait for the barrier to fall."


	36. Chapter 36

**Tag-Team Part 7**

 _Five days later_

 **(-)**

Minato started from a light doze as the barrier disintegrated at his back and nearly dropped him against the wall. Dressed as Lightning, Minato stepped into the building as Kushina appeared at his shoulder.

"Tell him," Shikaku ordered the prisoner.

"Did you not hear me the first time, you tree-hugging bastard?" He responded scathingly.

"You are Oshiro Taro," Minato responded coldly. "Your mother was Oshiro Tomiko, an Amegakure prostitute, died when you were six, cause unknown. Your father 's name is unknown. Judging from physical traits, he was most likely from Kumogakure or the surrounding villages. If anyone's a bastard it's you. Just because I have no village, doesn't mean I don't have a sense of loyalty. You're not the first traitor I've dealt with."

"Are you going to lecture me about what way is up next?"

"If there is information I need to hear, I'll hear it from you."

"Get your information elsewhere, you murderous, scheming, pathetic, leaf!"

Inoichi stepped behind him and placed his hand on the man's shoulder. " I suppose you thought it was bad that I invaded your mind. How did you feel? Exposed? Violated? Well, there's this new jutsu I'm developing and it will bring more than one person into another's mind. Between us, I'm certain we have enough chakra to go through each and every memory."

Minato barely retained his composure at the thought of invading another's privacy in that way, but Kushina vanished out the door, without anyone but Minato even noticing her appearance.

The prisoner blanched.

"Since I have not quite finished the jutsu yet, it might kill you or leave you a blithering idiot. That won't be a problem though, considering our orders are to kill you rather than interrogate you and bring you back for trial as we were intending to do."

If possible, the prisoner's face whitened further. "You're just kids," he hissed.

Choza snorted trying to hold back a laugh. "You spend days practically enjoying torture only to grow a conscience now and be appalled by the fact we're children."

"We're not children, we're shinobi," Shikaku added, somehow sounding bored and amused at the same time. "Now speak."

"Kumo heard a rumor about two clan children who exhibit promising potential. They plan to kidnap them for personal utilization and to strengthen the native bloodlines."

"Why does this matter to me?" Minato demanded, crossing his arms underneath his cloak.

"I used to be a part of Konoha too, Namikaze. Or are you the Uzumaki? You might be fooling everyone else, but you haven't fooled me. Lightning is from Konoha. Kumo wants Lightning. I told them how to get what they want!"

Minato pressed his little finger against the man's forehead, instantly knocking him out.

"Are you okay?" Choza asked, pulling the blond outside and closing the door behind him.

The Jonin sat down beside Kushina. "Kumo is targeting us."

"I heard," she responded.

"What are we going to do? Peacetime procedure states we have to be taken off all active missions for training in resisting interrogation and escape tactics."

"We could start a war," Kushina joked. "What's wartime procedure?"

"We would be used as bait and possibly a bargaining chip to end said war."

"That would be worse."

"Aren't the two of you on Kusa's hit list?" Shikaku asked as they all sat down in a circle.

"Kill-on-sight orders not capture, nor are they actively targeting us." Kushina explained. "We played the system to be promoted to Jonin because we needed the clearance for some information. Jiji wasn't happy, especially because Kusa issued kill-on-sight orders afterwards."

"Did you get the rest of the information we needed on what information was shared?" Minato asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Shikaku held up a scroll. "None of it is above my clearance or overly destructive, but there are plenty of leaks to be repaired."

"Then let's head back to Konoha. The three of you are in the lead, Kushina and I will shadow."

Five minutes later, they began the fast run back towards Konoha.


	37. Chapter 37

**Tag-Team Part 8**

 _In Konoha. Tsunade has only lost Nawaki.(Dan's death happened, in canon, during the Second Shinobi World War but in this story, he dies during the Third)_

 **(-)**

"What did you do this time?" The Sandaime asked as Minato and Kushina rushed up to his office. They tossed him a scroll each and turned around to rush back out the door.

"Nothing!" Kushina protested. The Sandaime shunshined in front of the door, caught them both by the arm before kicking the door closed.

"We have another mission that we have to hurry to. We wrote the mission report on the way here so we can get started right away, especially since it includes new identities," Minato responded when the Sandaime looked at them suspiciously. "Kushina wrote the report so you can actually read it this time!"

"And your report?"

"I dictated it to her."

"The prisoner?"

"Ino-Shika-Cho are already at the prison with him."

"Did you get the information? Where are the other team's reports?"

"The information is sealed in my scroll while their reports are sealed in Kushina's since it's her turn to be squad leader on the reports."

"Why are the two of you so skittish?"

"Not skittish, hyper," Kushina corrected. "We got a late adrenaline rush."

"Sit down," the Hokage ordered.

Before they could protest, the Sandaime steered them towards the couch in the corner of the room and pushed them down onto it.

"Now stay there until I finish reading the reports." He took his time walking back to his desk and opened both scrolls, unsealing the scrolls inside and keeping a sharp eye on the two as they signed to each other. To anyone else, they would appear to be fidgeting, but the Hokage learned the hard way not to put anything past them. Only the rustling of paper broke the heavy silence. The Sandaime's frown grew when he read all five reports and found nothing to warrant their odd behavior. He read the scroll with the information gathered, his face blank. Slowly and deliberately, he stood up and carried his chair over in front of the two Jonin. "While you were gone, an updated Bingo book was issued. Lightning is considered a B-rank threat. That is quite an impressive feat for both of you."

They started fidgeting for real.

"This brought some things to my attention."

They shrank back against the couch.

"Neither of you have been assessed for physical fitness since you were Genin. It's about time Tsunade did some menial labor. A complete checkup will keep her away from her gambling for a few days. I owe her a birthday gift and tormenting you will satisfy that nicely."

Both turned red.

"Considering how many problems you like to cause, that should take about a week. After that, you have quite a number of D-ranks you may do until there is time for the interrogation department to train you to resist interrogation techniques, as is required of all shinobi with a capture reward. After that, I am going to schedule a very long discussion with both of you over the many things that have come to my attention and the things that have not. Until I say otherwise, you are not to leave the village. That's an order. The mission that was given to you will be reassigned." He held out his hand and Minato reluctantly turned over the mission scroll he received from Sakumo. "Tsunade is here to make sure you don't run off in the process." He gestured towards the door as the woman slammed it open angrily.

"What do you want now, Sensei?" She grumbled.

"Considering you are the primary physician for these two, I thought it wise to hand them over to you for their long-overdue physical. They are classified as a high flight risk, which you may handle as you see fit."

"How long exactly has it been since either of them visited the hospital?"

"Officially, not since before they were made Genin. Unoffically, Kushina had a short stay a few months later and Minato visited her."

"And why are they classified as a flight risk?"

"Just a precaution. You may keep them for as long as you would like."

Tsunade grabbed them both by the wrist, shunshined to the hospital, and stopped in one of the smaller rooms. To one side of the door was three carts. One consisted of a shelf, which held two neatly placed file folders and two small stacks of hospital clothing underneath. The second sported numerous drawers filled with medical utensils. The third resembled the second, but with heavier equipment. In the center of the room, a bare examination table gave the room sickeningly sterile atmosphere. Everything seemed to glow white.

They shrank away from her as she crossed her arms.

"I could spend five minutes using medical Ninjutsu to assess your condition."

Both brightened at her suggestion.

"Considering it's been almost five years since you last received a fit-for-duty checkup and I haven't had any sake today, I'm going to make your life miserable. You are not allowed to leave this room until I am finished with you. Now, both of you are going to disarm completely, patients are not allowed weapons, for obvious reasons. Put your weapons on this. All of them," Tsunade pushed the wheeled cart towards them, which Minato caught reflexively.

Another glare was all it took for the duo to comply.

"Arm," Tsunade demanded once they finished, holding her hand out to Minato.

"What are you going to do?" Kushina snapped while Minato crossed his arms defiantly.

"I just going to torture you until you can't tell the difference between night and day," the medic scowled, sarcasm appearing to physically drip from her words.

Both Jonin misunderstood the intent behind her words.

"It's a simple diagnostic seal that is more accurate than the current diagnostic jutsus. Both of your medical files are ridiculously thin and while it is safe to assume you aren't going to drop dead any second, considering you spend as much time as you do with my sensei's wife, I'm curious about how many potentially deadly bugs you have in your bodies from the countless foreign missions from which you've returned and failed to report to the hospital." She glared at them, exasperated.

"Fine!" Minato conceded unexpectedly and held out his arm. "See for yourself. We're perfectly healthy."

"You have no idea what you're talking about little boy."

Minato responded under his breath, too quiet for anyone else to hear.

"What was that?" Tsunade asked, dangerously smooth as she took his wrist in an iron grip and bared the soft skin.

"Do you need me to draw the seal for you?" Minato retorted, equally dangerous and undaunted by her tone which could make a Kage shift uneasily.

"You wouldn't know this seal," Tsunade responded absentmindedly, drawing it with practiced ease while Kushina frowned in confusion.

Minato deigned not to respond as Tsunade activated the seal.

Her expression turned stormy exactly five seconds later and she snatched Kushina's arm, drawing the same seal on her, anger growing. "Both of you are indefinitely suspended from active duty," the woman growled.

"What? That's not fair!" The teenagers protested loudly.

"You are also under quarantine!" Tsunade added even louder. "I'm not playing older sister with you two right now. First and foremost, I am an iryo-nin and right now, both of you are under quarantine. You are not to leave this room."

Minato and Kushina fell silent, stunned by Tsunade's deadly seriousness.

"Sit down while I take a blood sample," she ordered, kinder and with an uncharacteristic amount of patience. Both jumped up onto the examination table as Tsunade dragged the cart filled with smaller medical supplies in front of them. With movements she could do while unconscious, she prepared a needle and syringe Tsunade wrapped a hand around the boy's bicep and quickly pushed the needle into his arm.

The Jonin appeared slightly sickened by the sight of blood filling the syringe. Tsunade deftly pulled out the needle and covered the slightly bleeding pinprick with her thumb, medical Ninjutsu flickering around her hand. She transferred the blood into a test tube, labeled it, and capped the top before repeating the process with Kushina.

"You're shinobi, a little blood shouldn't bother you," Tsunade snapped as she slipped the vials into her pocket. Kushina made a face at her, which visibly irked the older woman.

"You're supposed to be a shinobi. You shouldn't let a few insults bother you," Minato retorted defensively.

Tsunade opened her mouth to scold him before she processed exactly what he said. "I guess we're both lacking in certain aspects," she admitted. Minato gaped, sufficiently distracted by her unexpected and uncharacteristic maturity. "Kushina, you're with me," she put Kushina's stack of clothes under her arm and put her other hand on Kushina's back to steer her out of the room. As soon as she locked the door, Tsunade led Kushina to the next room of the hall and closed the door.

"Why did you lock him in? Why quarantine? What's going on now? Why are you taking our weapons?" Kushina fired the questions at Tsunade, barely taking a breath.

"I need you to relax, Kushina and answer me as honestly as you can. Will you do that for me please?"

"Why? Tell me what's going on!"

"While you were gone, Sakumo-san discovered that unknown individuals who may or may not be working together are actively attempting to assassinate you or Minato-kun, but we haven't been able to determine which."

Kushina frowned and waited for the woman to finish.

"He normally shadows your missions whether you know it or not. At almost all times, you are accompanied by one or more of the most powerful ninja in the village or protected by some powerful seals. It's only because of that they haven't been successful. Sakumo-san only discovered them because Jiraiya unexpectedly shadowed you instead of him. The only thing we've been able to determine for certain is that they have been regularly attempting poison. Because of the Kyuubi, it takes an immensely strong poison to bother you, but we also know nothing of Minato-kun's abilities to combat poison. You noticed, even though he didn't, that the seal I used wasn't the classic diagnostic seal but a detection seal for poisons."

"Why couldn't you tell us this in the Hokage's office? Grandma Mito wrote the privacy seals in there, no one could—"

"The room isn't secure and you don't have clearance or any of the better secured rooms. As I was saying, it found that you have multiple chemicals, which are harmless by themselves, in oddly high quantities. If someone introduced other specific chemicals into your body, it could be deadly. I'm not trying to get Minato-kun angry for any other reason than to distract him from what's really going on, do you understand?"

Kushina raised an eyebrow.

"Sakumo-san watched someone break into Minato's room—"

"If you want to lie to my face, at least be convincing about it. No one broke into Minato's room, there's no one after us and this hospital isn't about some possible poisoning or skipping checkups. Just because I'm loud and impulsive doesn't mean I'm stupid or gullible." Her voice began to gradually rise. "It certainly doesn't mean I'm blind enough not to notice the bjiuu-containment seals all over this room and the last. What is going on? I know Grandma Mito told you everything she could about the seal before they put that thing inside of me!" Kushina jabbed a finger at her stomach.

"Calm down, Kushina," Tsunade tried to soothe. "You're only—"

"Like hell I'll calm down!" She screamed, tears welling in her eyes and turning towards the hidden camera. "It's always been calm down, Kushina, you're only leaving everyone you know behind to die so you can live somewhere everyone thinks you're dirt! Or, calm down, Kushina, you're only going to become everyone's personal scapegoat and boogeyman! How about this: calm down, Kushina, we only sealed the most powerful and hate-filled bijuu inside of you after the most terrifying experience of your life in order to try and drive away the first real friend you've ever made! What is it this time? Calm down Kushina, we only wanted to see if we could trust you to keep the awful monster from destroying us by betraying you and lying to your face for years!" Red chakra bubbled from her stomach and coated her skin. "Well, I don't even want to control it now!" She spun on her heel and raced towards one of the walls, slamming her palm against it and leaving a small black seal on the otherwise clean surface before stepping back as it exploded outward. She forced away the Kyuubi's chakra as she stepped through the hole to meet several ANBU, the Hokage, and Danzo reflexively shielding their faces from the blast. In one of the few places in the room where the rubble didn't reach, Minato lay propped in the corner, an ugly bruise forming over his temple. In an instant, she correctly deduced what happened from his distinctive lack of a jacket and the torn back of his shirt where he hid a small, nearly undetectable weapons pouch.

She blinked and felt the ANBU reach for her and twisted away from their grasp before shunshining beside Minato. She lifted him over her shoulder and blasted her way out of the room, vanishing into the forest outside. She did not even think of stopping until Minato stirred. She skidded to a halt and set him gently on the ground as he clutched at his head. She clung tightly to his arm as his other hand flickered to a green glow and quickly healed the bruise.

"Are you okay?" She asked in a small voice.

"Think I should be asking you that. Did you use some of the Kyuubi's chakra? My senses are fried right now."

"I'm sorry!" Kushina cried, lips trembling.

"Why would you be sorry? If whatever happened was your fault, I would be mad at you, but you weren't the one who hit me over the head or got you upset enough to lose your cool."

"Minato—"

"I have too much of a headache to try and make you feel better, Kushina, please stop being ridiculous."

"You don't even know what happened!"

"I can guess. They wanted you for some reason that related to the Kyuubi. They said something. You got mad. They messed with you, and you lost control. You redirected that loss of control until you got the control back. You ran."

"Jiji was there."

Minato stiffened. "He's the Hokage, I guess it makes sense."

"I didn't lose control."

"So did they attack you or something?"

"No."

"I know you Kushina. You didn't just let it out."

"No—"

Minato sighed and burned a quick seal into tree behind him with Chakra. "We found a flaw in the seal's design when we stole Mito-san's layout of the seal. The Kyuubi can intensify your emotions—"

Kushina stiffened. "Someone's coming," she hissed and burned two more seals beneath Minato's in quick succession.

"She stopped here for some reason," Sakumo concluded, bending down to pick up a torn fragment of Minato's shirt. "As far as I can tell, she used a little chakra, but so did Minato. It's safe to assume he used the Nidaime's jutsu. There's no way anyone will be able to follow them. Now what happened? They are supposed to be on a mission right now. Why do you need them tracked?"

The teenagers followed his gaze to find Danzo and the Hokage emerging from the shadows. "You don't need to know, Hatake-san," the Hokage told him evenly. "When it becomes relevant, you will be notified."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, those kids are as good as my own. I am Minato's guardian and Kushina sleeps at my house more often than her own. If something's wrong, it is relevant to me. I can find them if I know why they're running. There's a thunderstorm coming. If I don't find them soon, there's no way anyone will be able to once the rain comes."

"Kushina lost control of the Kyuubi."

"She's lost control before, what makes this time different?"

"She misunderstood the circumstances."

"How?"

"She thinks we've been deliberately tormenting her."

"From her perspective, it would look that way."

"That's not what happened."

"Then what happened?"

"I can't tell you."

"I have a very high level of clearance."

"It needs higher."

Sakumo sighed. "This is something I've noticed. When those kids are in the village, they are genuinely happy, trusting, carefree, oblivious children. They act out, demand attention, show off, and run around doing stupid things. They feel safe. They drop every single shield they have. If they sense danger, the shields come up without a second thought, even if the danger is nothing more than Kakashi running around the corner too fast waving a wooden kunai. I can't even count how many times the two of them have drawn their weapons when they're not expecting me to step around the corner. They treat everyone as a friend one second and an enemy the next, including you. They learned to do that by watching us. We treat them as harmless children one second and shinobi the next. One second we're claiming to protect them and the next, we're expecting them to protect us. If you want me to bring them back, you're going to have to decide how you want them brought back. As children or shinobi?" Sakumo crossed his arms as Minato and Kushina clung to each other unconsciously, hidden behind the three barriers.

"That's not—"

Sakumo whipped out two cords and they wrapped around Minato and Kushina, jerking them out of the barriers and flinging them down in the center of everyone. Grabbing them by the hair, Sakumo pulled them to their knees and turned their tearstained faces towards the Hokage. "Decide, Hokage-sama." He ordered as the children's fingernails clawed weakly at his hands. "Are they children? They come back from their missions starving because they can barely feed themselves on their own. They sleep with the lights on and still wake up screaming in terror from watching their parents murdered in front of them! They still cry when they fall down while running in the house. Are they children? Or are they your shinobi? Their Chakra reserves rival ours. She has the Kyuubi sealed inside of her and you said so yourself he is most likely to succeed you as Hokage. They have a ninety-seven percent mission success rate, one of the highest in the village, almost as high as mine. They are legacies of two almost extinct and extremely powerful clans. They are two of the most skilled seal masters in the entire shinobi world, head and shoulders above everyone else in the village, including yourself. The boy has already recreated versions of two jutsus our best researchers have declared impossible, and one of them was entirely by accident, while he was still in the Academy. Decide, Hokage-sama. Are they children so innocent they can't tell a lie and so scared they can't even look you in the eye or are they shinobi with the potential to level armies single-handedly?" Sakumo shook the two as punctuation

The Hokage looked down at the two trembling figures, the sunlight falling on their faces tinged red by the autumn leaves and making their tears glisten like blood. He could see the dried blood on their clothes underneath the grime from a mad dash through the forest and being thrown against the ground.

Thunder boomed and the sunlight vanished, replaced by sheets of cold rain which soaked everyone present in less than a minute. The two shivered. Their clothes clung tightly to their skin, revealing well-defined muscles and a distinct lack of weapons and armor.

"Decide quickly, Hokage-sama," Sakumo tightened his grip until they started to struggle weakly against him.

"That isn't a choice, Hatake."

"It's a choice you have to make. You're the Hokage of Konoha, no one else. Are they children or are they shinobi?"

"They're both!" The Hokage yelled.

"Then kill them!" Sakumo shouted back and shoved them forward, throwing two kunai at the Hokage's feet. "A dog can only be beaten so much before it bites back and they're treated worse than most dogs."

The Sandaime stammered an unintelligible response, clenching his fists tightly. "Then they have to be my shinobi," He murmured, eyes darting between the kunais and the muddy hair obscuring their faces before turning away and leaving.

Danzo followed; his face, unreadable.

As soon as they were out of sight, Sakumo fell to his knees and rolled them over, checking them for major injury. Two if his summons approached and sniffed at the teens as they pushed themselves up, shaking the hair out of their face.

With the amount of water putting down on them, Sakumo could barely see them as pulled Kushina onto his back in a piggy-back ride. She clung to him tightly as he lifted Minato to his feet and started guiding him back towards the village. The rain eased slightly as they approached the gates. The guards waved them through without question. The civilians scurried around, squeezing under the eaves of buildings to avoid the downpour. Guiding Minato towards his house, the door opened before them to reveal a masked four-year-old.

"Please go get some towels, Kakashi," Sakumo ordered softly. The boy rushed to obey as Sakumo closed the door behind him and set Kushina on her feet. She rubbed her eyes as Kakashi returned with a stack of towels as tall as himself. Sakumo took one and put it around Kushina's shoulders and another over her head before doing the same for Minato. He stripped off his Jōnin vest, weapons, and shirt, slipped off his shoes, dropping it all out a heap before hurrying back towards his bedroom for dry clothes. Kakashi padded after him, eyes gazing up curiously. "I'll teach you a new jutsu if you go wait quietly in your room until I get this sorted out, okay?" the father bargained. The boy dashed out of the room and picked up a book from the bookshelf in the hall before secluding himself in his room. Sakumo hurried back, dressed in dry civilian clothes. The teenagers visibly relaxed as his reappearance, but had not taken any initiative to dry themselves. Sakumo put his hands on Minato's head and dried the boy's hair, hating how Minato tensed at the gesture. Sakumo wrapped the towel tightly around Minato's shoulders. "Go put some dry clothes on, Minato-kun," Sakumo propelled Minato towards his room and turned towards Kushina. She looked ready to fall over as he dried her hair and guided her to the bathroom. "You keep your spare clothes under the sink, put something dry on," he suggested quietly. She closed the door behind her. Sakumo turned around and knocked on Minato's bedroom door. "May I come in?" He asked quietly.

"Yes," Minato answered, barely audible. As Sakumo opened the door, he saw Minato sitting on his bed, wet clothes dripping onto the floor. The wall of the room were covered with seals pinned on the walls but not activated. Sakumo noticed each paper had a slit running from the center of the seal to the edge of the paper, preventing the seals from ever being used. Minato held a plain, worn box in his hands, staring sadly at the contents. Sakumo let the door swing closed behind him and went to Minato's closet to pull out a change of clothes. He laid them on the bed and sat down beside him.

"What's in the box?" Sakumo asked.

"The scrolls I stole on my clan history. You already knew that didn't you?"

"I did. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"Is it anything I can help with?"

"I don't know." Sakumo waited for Minato to elaborate but no words came out.

"Put some dry clothes on, you'll feel better then, and you'll know if I can help you," Sakumo mussed the boy's hair as he left. A few minutes later, he heard the teens' voices murmuring in Minato's room. He pulled out the stack of paperwork he needed to catch up on in order to distract himself from the possible repercussions of his recent actions.

An hour later, the voices quieted as the two fell asleep. As quietly as he could, Sakumo took that as his cue to make his way to his own bedroom.


	38. Chapter 38

**Tag-Team Part 9**

 **(SAKUMO)**

In the dead of night, Minato's loud, wordless shout woke Sakumo from a heavy sleep.

"You're awake," Kushina commented.

Sakumo could barely hear them and felt thankful he left the bedroom doors open.

"Biwako-sensei and Jiji used to let me sleep with them when I had nightmares. Do you think Sakumo-san will too?"

"Kotone oba-san used to sleep in his room all the time, I don't think he minds."

"I don't think that's how it works," Kushina answered as they tiptoed towards his room. Sakumo smiled and quickly pretended to be asleep.

Minato knocked on the door, "Can we sleep in here?"

"That's fine," Sakumo allowed. The two adolescents curled against either side of him, asleep in less than a minute. He could smell the fear and sadness clinging to them like a parasite locked on to a vibrant host. He rubbed Minato's back and felt the kunai taped against the boy's spine. Despite all of the contradicting evidence, Sakumo felt everything would turn out just fine for them.

 _Author's note:_

 _I didn't know how to put this in the story, but the mission Sakumo brought them was taken away. Due to the circumstances, it would have been unwise to give them a mission while they were in their current state of mind. Sorry about the loose end, but I started writing the mission and it just started to drag on so I scrapped it._


	39. Chapter 39

**Apprentice Part 1**

 _Kakashi is almost six, about to graduate from the Academy. Minato is sixteen and has his own house. Kushina just joined the ANBU and crashes at his place whenever she is not on mission. Minato opted to sign up for a Genin team instead._

 **(MINATO)**

"Don't do that!" Minato shouted from where he stood pulverizing a wooden post.

In a blur of yellow, he knocked Kakashi to the ground, ruining the boy's focus, and the jutsu he was attempting.

"I said you could _train_ in my backyard, not try and kill yourself!"

"I was trying to make up a jutsu to impress the Academy! You messed me up!"

"I saved your life, little brat, that combination of hand seals alongside your lack of control would have sapped all of your Chakra in an instant!"

"You always make up your own jutsus! Why can't I?" Kakashi shot to his feet.

"Because I know what I'm doing! From what just happened, you don't! Let me see your notes so I can show you what happened so you don't do it again."

"Notes?"

"Yes, the notes you took mapping out exactly what you were going to try before you actually tried it."

"You don't take notes!"

Minato rubbed his temples. "Come on inside, let me show you something."

Kakashi followed the Jōnin into the house and down the hall to a large closet filled with scrolls. Minato grabbed two and a pencil from the shelf before motioning for Kakashi to follow him into the main room. Minato spread the two scrolls on the coffee table, one blank and the other covered with hand-drawn diagrams and notes, before kneeling down with his back to the front door. Kakashi knelt beside him, curious.

Minato pointed to the top scroll with the end of the pencil, "These are my notes when I developed my first jutsu. On this side of the scroll," Minato pointed to the far right and moved his hand as he explained each part of the scroll, "I wrote down exactly what I wanted the jutsu to accomplish. In this case, it was a net of wind that would slow down an opponent. The first thing I had to do was figure out the hand seals. I didn't need the hand seals to focus or control my chakra, but I decided to use them anyways to be safe. The next section is a summary of my notes on the twelve basic hand seals and the first sequence I thought might work and why. I wrote down exactly what I thought would happen and why, drew a diagram to map out what should happen and why. My first try didn't work, so I wrote down what actually happened and why, including the diagram of what I did with my Chakra. You can read this to see how many trials it took for me to figure out how to do it." Minato pointed to a section towards the end of the scroll, "And that is what I made the jutsu accomplish in the end. You can trace exactly what I did and why I did it throughout the entire process. I didn't do all this because I liked writing things down, I did it so I would fully understand what I was attempting. The first step to mastering a jutsu is to understand the jutsu. It's the first step to countering one too. I thought if I could get enough experience in making jutsus, when I saw a jutsu I didn't know, it would be easier to figure out and counter. I was somewhat right. Does all that make sense?"

Kakashi frowned as he leaned over the papers and started to follow Minato's train of thought on the paper. "You're saying I have to do all this to make a jutsu?"

"If you want to continue training in my backyard you do."

Kakashi snatched the pencil off the table and started to map out the jutsu he wanted to make. Minato watched passively, asking pointed questions as to why Kakashi wrote certain things. In return, Kakashi asked his own questions, which Minato answered clearly and concisely.

"You should have taken up teaching, Minato-kun."

Kakashi and Minato spun around in surprise at the unexpected voice from the doorway. On instinct, Minato pulled out two kunai and held them up to deflect an oncoming strike. Kakashi's reaction was not as instantaneous, but he still spun around, surprised.

"Relax, Minato-kun," Sakumo said, holding up his empty hands.

Minato lowered his weapons, but did not put them away. "It's not very polite to sneak up on people and eavesdrop."

"You're normally much more aware of your surroundings when you leave your security seals off. Anyways, I just wanted to know if Kakashi was staying here for dinner or not."

"You don't have to worry about me," Kakashi grumbled. "I'm almost a ninja!"

"You're still only five, Kakashi," Minato placated. "It doesn't matter how strong or smart you are. You don't have any experience and you spend more time learning about being a shinobi than learning how to take care of yourself. He's going to worry about you no matter what. Are you going to go home for dinner or stay here?"

"I'll stay here."

"Is that fine with you, Minato-kun?"

"Its fine, Kushina already said she'd cook tonight, so we won't starve."

"Come home before dark, Kakashi, you have to go to the Academy tomorrow," Sakumo said before he left, closing the door behind him.

"Speaking of the Academy, have you done your homework yet?"

"The homework's dumb."

"That doesn't change the fact you have to do it. Not more jutsu developing until you finish." Minato rolled up the scrolls and placed them on a shelf barely out of Kakashi's reach.

Disgruntled, Kakashi retrieved his homework while Minato settled on the couch, reading. An hour later, Minato stood up for seemingly no reason at all and walked to the front door. Still reading, he opened the door to reveal Kushina, in her ANBU uniform, reaching for the doorknob. "It's creepy when you do that."

"Are you making ramen tonight?" Minato asked as he sat back down on the couch, wrinkling his nose at the smell of blood on her uniform.

"No, I'm making fried roach legs," she answered sarcastically. "Hi, Kakashi-kun."

The Hatake boy did not even acknowledge her presence as he continued to work. "This math is pointless!" He exploded a few seconds later.

"It is, until you have to start making traps. Then you'll wish you learned it. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience," Minato responded and closed his book, moving to sit on the floor across from Kakashi. "What don't you understand?"


	40. Chapter 40

**Apprentice Part 2**

 _Three days later_

 **(-)**

"You asked to see me, Hokage-san?" Minato said as he entered the meeting room in the Hokage's tower. Minato nodded politely to the council, Jiraiya, Sakumo, and the head Jōnin, who sat around the table. He recognized his Jōnin file laid out on the table.

"You signed up to take a Genin team, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir, I fulfill all the requirements to be a Jōnin-sensei."

"You passed up an opportunity to become a part of ANBU, why?"

Minato shrugged. "There are plenty of ANBU, all of whom are very skilled and do their job admirably well; however, there is a chronic shortage of Jōnin willing and capable of taking on a Genin team to pass on their skills as ninja. Since I am capable of joining a majority of the divisions within the Konoha shinobi forces, I made my decision based on which role I was most needed in."

"The sensor corps could use extra help," the Hokage pointed out.

"The sensor corps is capable of fulfilling their role in the village and on missions. There are not enough Jōnin-senseis to take on the current class of graduating students."

"Did Hatake Kakashi's placement have anything to do with this decision?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. Kakashi isn't set to graduate with the current class."

The group studied him thoughtfully.

Minato stood straight with his hands clasped against the small of his back, slightly uncomfortable under the scrutiny.

"I'll allow it," the Hokage decided.

Sakumo smiled, satisfied, while Jiraiya stood up and walked towards the door.

"Allow what?"

"Congratulations, gaki, you just got an apprentice," Jiraiya slapped him on the back, hard enough to send him crashing against the table had he not been expecting it. Even so, Minato stumbled forward a step. "Sound like a familiar situation?" Jiraiya asked as he left.

"An apprentice?"

The Hokage slid a file across the table. "To be joined by two members to complete a Genin team at the next graduation. He is graduating young and it seems best to give him a sensei to help him accomplish more than he would be able to by spending another school year at the Academy."

Minato opened the file. "You're joking right? You want me to teach Kakashi?"

"It's not a joke. Normally senseis are only assigned if the student doesn't know their elder. Taking into consideration the boy's personality, it would be best to pair him with someone he already knows and respects."

Minato nodded at the Hokage respectfully. "Is this my copy of his file?"

"Correct, that is all; you may leave, but please refrain from mentioning this to Kakashi-kun."

"Understood," Minato turned and left with the folder in hand.

Sakumo nodded to the others before following him out the door.

"If I could be so bold to say this, that boy is going to go far," the Hyuuga head Jōnin commented.

"I don't trust him," Koharu snapped.

"Why not?" Sarutobi asked.

"He makes his own rules. He's unpredictable. He's too talented. He seems too perfect to be real."

"He's unblooded," Danzo added.

"You can't be more wrong," the Hyuuga mused, leaning back in his chair. "His 'rules' as you call them, are far beyond our comprehension. He follows them to the letter. His talent is surprising, but pale when compared to the other Jōnin, and he is far from perfect, no matter how it seems."

"And he has lost as much as anyone here, despite his age," Sarutobi continued cryptically.


	41. Chapter 41

**Apprentice Part 3**

 _That night_

 **(MINATO)**

"You know you have your own room here, Kushina. You don't have to smother me with your hair every night."

"Are you trying to kick me out?"

"Yes."

"It's not going to work."

"I know."

"Then why do you try?"

"I don't know."

"Why do you sleep on these hard mats anyways?"

"I like them."

"You can get a mattress."

"I don't want one."

"Why not?"

"You've already taken over my house, what more do you want?"

"A mattress."

"You have a mattress at your house. Sleep there."

"It's cold there!"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Someone's knocking."

"Let them knock, it's late."

"I think Kakashi's at the door."

"He's always poking around here, let him be and go to sleep. Its pitch dark and I'm tired."

"I don't need light to see."

"You and your creepy senses."

"Keep insulting me and I actually might kick you out."

Kushina quieted as she heard him pulling out a kunai from his weapons in a chest of drawers by the door.

He padded down the hall and opened the door a crack to see Kakashi pressed against wall to the immediate right of the door, the only place on his porch which was marginally out of sight of the road.

Minato reached out and pulled him in sharply, pressing a hand over the boy's mouth and wrapping his other arm around his chest to stop him from fighting back until he settled down. "It's the middle of the night, Kakashi, what are you doing here? You shouldn't even be outside! It's past the village curfew for non-active personnel. Do you have your Academy ID with you?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I was training on the clan grounds and I didn't notice how late it was, To-san left on a mission at dusk. When I got back home, there were some strange seals glowing on the door. They aren't the normal security seals."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! To-san doesn't put a seal on the living room window, he puts it on the door to the rest of the house, but there was a seal there. I don't know what it means!"

"Sakumo-san's mission, how long has it been scheduled?"

"It was sudden, less than ten minutes before he left."

"Did you trip the 'Do Not Enter' seal before you came here?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Good. You can sleep here for tonight and I'll check on everything in the morning. I can't do anything about a seal when it's too dark to see."

"I can't sleep."

"Then I'll sit with you, Kushina took my bed anyways." Minato tossed the younger boy over his shoulder and spun quickly, before falling onto the couch. "Everything will be fine," Minato assured him confidently as Kakashi scrambled off his pseudo-older brother and curled on the other side of the couch

"How did someone put seals all over my house?"

"It's not hard, Kakashi. If you really want to know, I'll show you, but not until after you graduate from the Academy. There's no reason for you to know dangerous stuff like that until then."

A half-hour later of sitting in silence, Kakashi fell into a deep sleep. As soon as Minato was sure, he allowed himself to doze off on the opposite end of the couch, his foot against Kakashi's so any movement on the boy's part would awaken him.


	42. Chapter 42

**Apprentice Part 4**

 _In the morning_

 **(MINATO)**

"Minato! Minato! Wake up!" Minato successfully ignored the boy until he jumped up and started bouncing on his chest. "Curfew is over! Get up! You have to go look at the seal!"

"Stop the racket!" Kushina snapped from directly beside Minato.

He yelped and fell off the couch in surprise at finding Kushina curled against him. Kakashi landed on the coffee table and smoothly rolled of the other side.

"Come on!"

"Is the sun up yet?"

"By the time it is, we'll be there!"

"Fine, but you're not walking into a minefield if you want to make it to graduation, understood?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to protest before reconsidering and agreeing reluctantly.

"Go get my pen and ink for sealing; it's in the bottom drawer of the dresser just inside my bedroom door."

"But what about your security?"

"I'm in the house and conscious so it's deactivated. Now go!"

Kakashi raced to get what Minato needed. When he returned, Minato was standing by the door, dressed in his shinobi clothes but unarmed.

"My sensing range is very far. If I sense you setting a toe out of this house before I return, you won't be able to use Chakra or move faster than a civilian toddler until your father gets back. I have no qualms about using S-ranked seals on you so don't even test me."

"You're in a bad mood this morning," Kushina commented. "I'll have breakfast ready when you get back. Kakashi, you're going to help me."

Minato stepped out of the house and trudged towards Kakashi's home. Sure enough, he saw the seals plastered all over the house.

At first, he had no idea what they meant. After studying them for a moment, Minato closed his eyes and spread his senses, detecting the slightest traces of Chakra on the property. He followed one of them to a small house nearby and knocked loudly on the door.

"It is way too early for a damn salesman, who are you?" A man answered.

"Namikaze Minato, Jōnin of Konoha, may I come in?"

"You can dress up like a shinobi, but you have to give me some identification because you don't look the part."

Minato pulled out his ID card and showed it to the man, who stepped aside politely.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what would a Jōnin want at five in the morning?"

"You son was a part of a rather malicious prank on a classmate last night," Minato answered politely as he put away his identification.

"Masaru was here last night."

"Are you a shinobi, sir?"

"No, Namikaze-san."

"Masaru-kun is currently attending the Academy, correct?"

"Correct."

"Does Masaru-kun have more shinobi training than you?"

"Yes, Namikaze-san."

"So that means Masaru-kun could have left the house and returned without your knowledge, correct?"

"That is correct," the man gritted his teeth. "Masaru! Get up and come down here this instant!" He shouted. Footsteps sounded overhead and a second later, a boy trudged down the stairs. He froze in horror when he saw Minato.

"Who are you?"

"Namikaze Minato. Do you recognize the name?"

"You're the cool guy who visits the Academy and teaches a few of the specialty classes."

"Correct. Now do you know why I'm here?"

"No?"

"Remember that paper you signed when you began at the Academy? You promised to abide by the rules placed on shinobi stationed at home."

"I remember."

"How is sabotaging the wellbeing of your future comrade fulfilling your oath to assist and defend all residents of Konohagakure and its dependent villages?"

"I didn't sabotage anyone."

"Then why were you at the house of Hatake Kakashi last night?"

"What makes you think I was there?" The boy answered, crossing his arms defensively. "He's an arrogant bastard, so he deserved whatever he got."

"I was just there and I tracked the Chakra signatures that didn't belong."

"How do you know it wasn't my older brother? He's a Genin."

"Chakra signatures are very unique, it was you. Now, are you going to confess and apologize for what you did to Kakashi's house or are you going to find yourself a new village to live in?"

"You can't kick me out of Konoha!"

"Your little prank may have seemed innocent, but it is treason to act against a shinobi or a shinobi-in-training."

"You're bluffing," Masaru snapped.

"Am I?" Minato took out his sealing pen and pricked his finger, drawing a quick seal on his hand. "Do you know anything about Fūinjutsu?"

"It's just a useless bunch of squiggly lines, why?"

"What can it do?"

"The Academy teachers showed us some Fūinjutsu, but the explosion was pathetic. It can carry things too, but not very much."

"I've seen Fūinjutsu do some pretty amazing things, some of the most gruesome being turning a man entirely inside-out, but if you say so," Minato pressed his hand against the boy's head, leaving an imprint of the seal he drew on his palm. "If you're so confident Fūinjutsu is worthless, by all means I can activate this seal and we'll see what it can do before you go talk to the Hokage about whether breaking a vow and sabotaging a shinobi-in-training is treason. If not, you can clean up the fake seals you drew all over Kakashi's house with the rest of your co-conspirators before the Academy begins this morning and I won't report this incident."

The boy took off immediately.

"I understand that he must be disciplined for attacking a classmate, but did you really have to threaten to turn him inside out and to exile him?" The boy's father asked reproachfully.

"Do you know anything about Fūinjutsu, sir?"

"No, Namikaze-san."

"First, Fūinjutsu is one of the most dangerous branches of the shinobi arts and it is not to be used in jest. Second, he did commit treason. Placing seals, including fake ones, on the house of a Jōnin, especially one with a family is an attack on Konoha forces, no matter what the intent behind it was. It's a law that probably saved my life more than once. Finally, he expected me to scold him, take away privileges, or kick him out of the Academy in a worst-case scenario. The way I handled it, with every intent to punish him with the highest law as an adult, which I would have followed through with, took him off-guard. The lesson will be learned. Have a nice day, sir."

Minato vanished in a flash of yellow light, reappearing just inside his front door.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked as he watched Minato wash off the remaining ink in the kitchen's sink.

"Just a few of your classmates who dislike you tried to play a prank."

"It was just a prank?" Kakashi asked skeptically.

"Yes, a very tactless and inappropriate prank."

"I fell for a prank?"

"Everyone does, even your father and the Hokage himself has fallen for Kushina's pranks."

"You haven't."

"Actually, I do quite often, but I get myself out of it before it embarrasses me. There's a difference, Kushina's pranks don't have malicious intent behind them. You didn't overreact if that's what you're thinking."

"Teach me Fūinjutsu," Kakashi demanded.

"No," Kushina answered firmly. Even Minato appeared surprised by her vehemence.

"Fūinjutsu is not something to take on for revenge," Minato agreed, though less intense. Kakashi bristled, but bit back his argument as Minato looked down at him sternly. "I don't have a problem with teaching you anything, as long as you're learning it for the right reasons. Vengeance is not one of those reasons."

"I think it's perfectly fine to learn something to get back at someone," Kushina commented as she placed breakfast in Minato and Kakashi's hands. "But you're too young and arrogant to understand the intricacies and potential power or make it a serious part of your fighting style."

Kakashi settled into a pensive silence as his two elders began to bicker.

"Age has nothing to do with it Kushina, you were learning seals in the cradle and you were plenty arrogant when you were in the Academy, declaring you were going to be Hokage and everything even though your class rankings put you nearly as low as me," Minato retorted.

"At least I actually graduated, not cheated my way through the exam with excuses."

"I didn't cheat, I exempted them. Besides, I don't see you denying your arrogance."

"You were as arrogant as I was, always manipulating everything with your little chakra tricks. And by thinking we could take on four students and a nin-dog who graduated in the top half of the class with nothing more than a few slips of paper."

"It's not arrogance if it actually works!"

"Suit yourself," Kushina opened her mouth to take a bite when Minato flicked a piece of food straight past her fork, making her choke unattractively and toss her glass of water in Minato's face. Kakashi tossed two napkins at them and it turned into a three-way brawl, which didn't end until Kushina took pity on Kakashi for becoming Minato's human shield and stopped pelting the two of them with bits of unerringly aimed rice.

"You have a half hour before you have to be at the Academy, Kakashi. Do you still have a change of clothes in little closet I don't know what to do with, right?"

"It's a linen closet, Minato, for extra sheets and towels and blankets, not Kakashi's clothes and your weapon repair tools," Kushina rolled her eyes.

"Well, I don't have extra of any of that stuff so things are fine where they are."

Kakashi rolled his eyes as he left to clean up, annoyed by the fact he was the one covered with the most food, and Minato was only slightly damp from the water Kushina threw at him. Minato smirked at the boy's back before he used a water jutsu to clean up the room in a few seconds. The second he was finished, Kushina swept his legs out from underneath him. He landed flat on his back and while he recovered from the shock, Kushina sat across his hips and pinned his wrists above his head. He waited for her to speak, carefully keeping his eyes on her face as she leaned over him.

"You're not getting off that easy, Minato," she smirked. "What did the Hokage want with you yesterday?"

"Wouldn't you want to know?"

"Please?"

"It bothers you; of course I'm not going to tell." He vanished from underneath her and leaned against the doorway. "That was a clever try at catching me, but it won't work."

"Damn, why haven't you joined ANBU yet?"

"Because I want some cute Genin to torment first."

"Genin aren't cute. They're obnoxious."

"Whatever annoying they may be, it's nothing compared to what we were."

"Don't point it out!"

Minato stuck his tongue out at her while Kakashi tugged at his shirt. Turning his attention toward the boy, Minato waited for him to speak.

"Can we go early to the Academy?"

"Sure, any particular reason?"

Kakashi's forehead scrunched up.

"Fine, don't tell me. Let's go."


	43. Chapter 43

**Apprentice Part 5**

 _Kakashi's graduation_

 **(-)**

"Where's To-san?" Kakashi asked Minato in place of a greeting as he walked out holding a brand-new forehead protector.

"A distress call just came in from him. I'm headed out now as backup, but I decided to stop and congratulate you on my way."

"What happened?"

"His team was captured and he can't complete the mission without them. He needs a heavy hitter as backup. I'll be back with him in a week." Minato turned to leave, before spinning back towards the worried boy. "I almost forgot, at the end of the distress message, he said 'congratulate Kakashi on making Genin for me' but I don't know how he could have known you graduated, especially since he would have had to send the distress call sometime last night. Either way, we'll be back by the time you get your first assignments, see you then," Minato ruffled Kakashi's hair and sped towards the village gates in a blur of yellow.


	44. Chapter 44

**Apprentice Part 6**

 _Kakashi's team assignments_

 **(-)**

Kakashi only listened when the Chuunin instructor said his name. "—Hatake Kakashi will be placed as an apprentice to Namikaze Minato."

"What?" Kakashi snapped in surprise.

"You heard me, Hatake; you're apprenticed to Namikaze Minato." The instructor glared at Kakashi until he sat back in his seat. "Shizune, you will be apprenticed to Senju Tsunade. That is all. We will break for lunch and meet back here at thirteen-hundred sharp to be picked up by your sensei." The Chuunin left the students to discuss among themselves. Kakashi raced after him.

"What do you mean I'm apprenticed to Minato? He used to live at my house, isn't that breaking some sort of rule?"

"Listen, Hatake, if you want to complain about getting one of Konoha's best Jōnin as your sensei, take it to the Hokage. A word of advice: don't complain. I've seen Namikaze-san teach. You'll learn more under him than practically anyone else in the village. Now leave me alone, I'm done with you brats."

Kakashi stomped down the road towards Minato's house.

"From your expression, I would guess you found out about your assignment," Minato commented as Kakashi raised his fist to knock on the man's door.

"You smell like blood."

"I just got back from an A-ranked mission. What did you expect?"

"You had to have known before you left, why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I was asked not to and to teach you your first lesson."

"What's that?"

"You're not in the Academy anymore. You're not in control, and I'm not giving you any more easy passes. Since we already know each other, go home and think about that after you welcome your father back. I need a shower and sleep. Meet me at training ground eighteen at zero-nine-hundred tomorrow." He shut the door in the boy's face before he could begin processing the full implications of Minato's words.


	45. Chapter 45

**Sakumo's Suicide Part 1**

 _Sakumo's Suicide – Minato's reaction_

 _Minato is 18; Kakashi is 8 and has been on Minato's Genin team for 3 years._

 **(~MINATO)**

"Sakumo-san! Sakumo-san!" Minato called excitedly as he raced up to the Hatake's house. "The idea worked! I think I figured out the jutsu!" Minato pushed open the front door, oblivious to the ominous silence settled over the house. He zipped down the familiar hallway, sliding to a stop in front of the door to the man's bedroom. "Sakumo-san, can you come and make sure it'll work?" Minato knocked once on the door before sliding it open. The scene inside slapped the excitement off his face. A man lay on the floor facing away from the door. The Uzumaki symbol gleamed on the back of his vest.

At first Minato frowned, Kakashi stood on the other side of the man staring down in disbelief, unresponsive as the light from the hall filled the dark room. Minato stepped inside and approached slowly, noticing the old bloodstained tantō in the man's hand, a section of the blade wrapped in cloth and the man's hand still locked around it. Minato saw the front of his vest unzipped, the shadows hiding the gaping wound in his abdomen Minato knew existed. The pieces began to fall into place.

The failed mission.

The tension.

The insults.

The slander.

The abuse.

The depression.

The solitude.

The stress.

The tantō.

The wound.

Minato fell to his knees beside Kakashi, hands clamped over his ears, forehead pressed to the ground, tears dripping from his eyes. He wanted to scream for the man to come back, to ask why, but the only thing he heard was a little voice blaming him. How could he not notice? How could he let this happen? Why did he refrain from doing anything? The man took care of him for years, how could he not return the favor?

Beside him, Kakashi started to fall. Reflexively, Minato caught him and Kakashi wrapped his thin arms around Minato's neck, burying his face in the collar of the man's Chuunin vest, trembling violently. Minato returned the embrace to disguise his own spasms, unable to move and unaware of the time passing as he sank deeper into grief, staring at the note he pulled from Sakumo's front vest pocket. Hours later, someone called Sakumo's name, jeering outside the house. Minato choked, scrubbing his eyes dry of the tears he never noticed falling.

He stood up and staggered towards the door, laying the shell-shocked Kakashi on the couch in the main room before storming out the front door to face the accusers.

"You bastards!" Minato screamed at them, his emotions wildly out of control. He recognized the foremost of the aggressors as the teammates Sakumo saved. "He saved your life at the risk of his own, he forfeited his reputation and rank for you and this is how you repay him?" Minato's wild eyes darted across each of their faces. The aggressors stepped back. Even though they outranked the younger man, they feared his wrath. "He's dead now because of you! Do you think you were doing the village a favor, tormenting him? Do you have any idea how much your actions will be responsible for? His mission was to gather information to keep Konoha out of the war. The mission failed, but the _effect_ the mission was meant to have _did not fail_! He saved you; he made the other countries think twice about attacking us because _we protect our own_! With the other countries, he was the symbol of our strength, the reason for them not to attack us, the reason we could've stayed out of the war. He was the man standing between us and the other countries." Minato's screams lowered into a scarier murmur. "Yet you slandered him, you shredded his reputation to nothing and turned him into an enemy, a disgrace. Do you want to live through war? Do you want to spend every waking second fighting for years on end? Do you want to live unable to sleep safely, even in your own home?" Minato took two slow steps towards them, fists held rigidly as his sides, a meter away from the accusers standing accused.

"That's not true!" one spluttered out, Minato's attention focused on him.

Minato opened his mouth to retort but a painful grip on his arm stopped him. "That's enough, Minato-kun," the Hokage said.

"What do you know, _Sarutobi_?" Minato shouted in his face, righteous anger only growing in the face of those attempting to calm him. "You're as guilty as them for turning a blind eye to everything!"

The Hokage studied the young man carefully, waiting for him to finish.

"You knew exactly what role he played. If only for that, you should have at least said something. You swore to protect the village. The people include your shinobi. Did you even stop to think of the consequences of you inaction? Not only did you, Sarutobi Hiruzen, fail Hatake Sakumo, but you failed his son, Kakashi, too. It doesn't matter if he's a Chuunin, he's eight years old. Are you determined to ruin the lives of every Hatake in the village? The only person that boy had left was his father and for all your blustering about protecting the children, you're doing a damn good job of leaving them to their own devices. If that's not enough for you, this village is headed back to war." Minato jerked his arm free of the Hokage's grip, finishing in a low, accusatory growl, "And you're the one who could've stopped it." Minato formed a sharp hand seal. A flash from the window of the house marked Kakashi's departure and a second blinding flash sent everyone reeling away from the spot Minato vacated.

"Go back to your positions," the Hokage ordered before vanishing.


	46. Chapter 46

**Sakumo's Suicide Part 2**

 **(MINATO)**

Minato stumbled as he appeared in a small shack miles away from the village, falling to his knees with a pained sound. The anger Minato felt towards the people he upbraided vanished, immediately replaced with heart-stopping grief. Why was he so terrified without the man he looked up to his entire life? His accusations echoed back towards him. Why did he not notice the animosity sooner? Why did he not do something about it sooner? Was he as guilty as the people at whom he just screamed treason? He clamped his hands over his ears and screamed, trying to drown out the voices turning his accusations against him.

 _Why didn't you say anything against the accusations sooner?_

 _I was on a mission. I didn't know._

 _That's a pathetic excuse. Why didn't you tell him how important he was to you?_

 _I thought he knew._

 _Pathetic, how could he know if you never told him?_

 _I though he knew._

 _You're as guilty as the rest of them; you could've at least thanked him for something._

"Shut up! Shut up!" Minato gasped, falling forward and pressing his forehead against the floor, unable to do anything but let the tears drip onto the floor.


	47. Chapter 47

**Plans Part 1**

 _Second year of the Third Shinobi War_

 _At this point, Sakumo's suicide was only two years before. Minato saw the man as a surrogate father and did not take his death very well. To a certain extent, he still blames the Sandaime for Sakumo's death and has ignored the Sandaime's attempts to repair their relationship, addressing the Hokage just as every other shinobi would, but while he speaks the respect due to the Hokage, it is not sincere. Minato interacts with him on a civil and professional manner, even though the Sandaime is attempting to rekindle the uncle-nephew relationship they had before._

 _The Kannabi Bridge mission is still nearly a year away._

 _Minato is 20_

 **(-)**

"It's nice to see you back in the village, Minato-kun," the Hokage greeted as the addressed yawned a greeting. "I have another mission for you."

"I've been back from a three-month mission for only a few hours, my Genin, sorry, my team is too inexperienced to take a mission for the next few days."

"Did you push them on the way back?"

"They were too tired to be any help keeping watch or in a fight, so I ran them as hard as I could nonstop as soon as we made it past the border. I'll be fine for anything below a B-rank tomorrow, but it's going to be at least three days before my team is ready."

"Your team will have plenty of time to rest before their role in the mission must be played. Your part begins tomorrow morning. It's B-ranked for importance but a C-rank in difficulty."

"I'm not doing Jōnin assessments again."

"You'll be doing Academy assessments."

"I've been hanging out with those kids between missions."

"Please let me explain the mission before you interrupt me."

Minato stopped shifting from foot to foot and waited for the Sandaime to begin.

"The village morale is unacceptably low right now. Due to their international recognition, I cannot recall the Sannin to boost village morale. You, on the other hand, are extremely popular in the village, and unlike my students, you have the patience to interact with the villagers. That is your primary mission. During that time, you will be in charge of the Academy, prepping them for their graduation test in two weeks. Get as close to the children as you possibly can. The day before their graduation test, your assassination is going to be staged—"

"That's cruel!"

"—in front of them. This is the most promising batch of graduates I've ever seen, we need more Genin right now and all of the children in the Academy will be attempting to graduate. I don't have anyone in the village who is qualified to evaluate them for psychological preparedness so I'm attempting a harsher approach. They pass or fail primarily on their reactions, so make it as real as you possibly can without actually dying."

"It's still cruel."

The Hokage pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't afford sending these children out as Genin until I know they won't get themselves killed the second they step out of the village like your Genin teammate."

Minato's protests died. "Understood."

"You'll meet the instructors you will be working with in the Academy's teachers' lounge in two days at six in the morning. The details of your mission are in this scroll. Your Genin team is going to be behind the 'assassination' so I hope they are up to scratch."

"They're all Chuunin now, so they better be."

"Kushina's back in the village so you can recruit her to help," the Sandaime informed Minato.

"Isn't she supposed to be terrorizing the Kumo forces at the border?"

"Yes, but she inadvertently traumatized aa significant number of our own troops in the process so I thought it would be best for her to return to Konoha for a little while."

"Kushina isn't _that_ scary."

The Sandaime raised his eyebrows for a moment before dismissing the comment. "There is something more important I need to ask you about, Minato-kun."

Feeling the more serious turn of the conversation, Minato straightened.

"If you had a way to end this war, but the plan had a legitimate possibility of causing more destruction than it was intended to stop, would you attempt it?"

Minato opened his mouth to respond with an emphatic affirmative, when the Hokage's expression stopped him. "It would depend on what the plan entailed."

"On the moral compass of the average ninja, it would be within the bounds of an acceptable course of action."

Minato studied the Sandaime thoughtfully. "This isn't a rhetorical question."

"No, it is not."

"You have plenty of people older and wiser than me who can…" Minato trailed off, realizing the true reason for the original question.

"The plan you have to end the war has something to do with me."

The Sandaime nodded, gazing at a spot behind Minato.

The younger man instinctively followed his elder's gaze before refocusing on the Hokage. "I don't like playing games, Hokage-san."

With an imperceptible flinch, the Sandaime refocused on Minato. "Your friend, Shikaku-kun, is one of the handful tasked with finding a way to end this war alongside his duties of compiling and utilizing information sent in from spy networks."

"He found a way to prematurely end the war."

"Yes."

"How?"

"It's dangerous, brutal and depends entirely on one person."

"Me."

"Correct. While it is well within my rights to order you to carry out this plan; however, I cannot do so, in good conscience, without asking you if you are willing to carry it out, including dealing with the consequences."

"Just tell me the plan," Minato stood stiffly.

"Seven months ago, you defeated five Iwa squads almost singlehandedly. How did you do so?"

"That was a report I actually wrote and turned in. My team was severely outnumbered so we set a trap. They walked into it and I used the Hiraishin to stop them."

"The key to this plan is a large-scale use of your Hiraishin to destroy a branch of Iwa's army. Directly afterwards, you will appear in Iwagakure itself, announce what happened to the entire village, and declare it will happen again if the fighting doesn't stop."

"The Tsuchikage won't listen."

"Not the first time, and probably not the second either. Most likely, you will have destroyed a majority of the Iwa army before a truce is called. Before I begin incorporating this plan into the war strategy, I need you to be in agreement to it."

"You'll go ahead with the plan no matter how I respond, so why are you discussing this with me? I don't have the security clearance for the war strategy."

"I want to know what you think about this."

"What I think has nothing to do with this."

"Do you understand that this will make you both a military and political target?"

"Whether I understand or not, you still have to follow through with this plan. I appreciate you telling me what is required of me in the future, but it doesn't give me the security clearance, nor have you answered why you are discussing this with me."

"Sit down, Minato-kun," the Sandaime sighed.

Minato obeyed warily.

"I've already mentioned this, but you and the Sannin are the heroes of this war."

Minato waited patiently as the Hokage packed his pipe and lit it. He took a few long draws. When Minato's jaw began to twitch in annoyance, he continued.

"My prime and my reputation faded long ago, and my ability to fulfil my duties as Hokage continues to diminish. Simply put, I want to retire."

Minato's eyes narrowed. "Where is this going?"

"Fear, doubt, pride, and intimidation often lead people into holding back much-needed words and actions or saying and doing things which should stay buried."

The confusion on Minato's face put a small smile on the Hokage's visage.

"Righteous anger strips all these away. I'll admit I've made plenty of mistakes. Many have had dire and far-reaching consequences. I've had people tell me I was wrong and I've often ignored them, feeling I was somehow smarter, that I could see every outcome. My sensei, the Nidaime, was, regrettably, the only person I truly listened to, until recently."

Minato's hands tightened on his knees as the Sandaime's words brought up memories and emotions better left in the back of his mind.

"Even with your best efforts at hiding it, your prowess is well-known around the village. Civilians and shinobi alike look up to you."

"I don't care what they think of me. Get to the point."

"I'll give you a choice in this rather than an order. Will you accept the position as my successor for Hokage?"

Minato gaped. "With all due respect, I'm not even of age yet. No one would respect a teenager as Hokage, no matter how powerful."

"I'm not so foolish as to ask you to take my place as of now, but when this war ends and the treaties have been signed, I plan to leave the hat to you. Do you accept?"

Minato felt his knees go weak and knew he would have fallen if he were standing. "I accept," he heard himself say automatically.

"Here is your next mission," the Sandaime tossed him the scroll, which he caught reflexively. "You have four months to prepare for your other mission," the Sandaime tossed a second scroll, which Minato also caught. "And finally, your copy of the scroll which makes you officially my successor."

With a surprising amount of dexterity, Minato caught the last scroll while pulling out a sealing pen from his weapons pouch. The blond pushed up his sleeve, nicked his wrist with the tip of the pen and used his blood to draw a simple storage seal on the inside of his forearm. Still numb, Minato wished the Sandaime a good night while he stored the scrolls and walked out of the room. On the walk back, Iwa could have invaded and Minato would not have noticed, his shock at the Sandaime's offer ran so deep.

Only his redheaded wife strangling him in congratulations broke him out of his trance with a desperate need to breathe.

"I'm sure the kids would be excited to hear that as soon as they wake up. Honestly, how hard did you work them? They collapsed on the front lawn, -ttebane! I got a picture to enjoy later. Your midnight snack is almost ready, go sit down." She turned back towards the kitchen.

"There's something else," Minato spat out as he fell into one of the chairs.

"What else?"

"It's the way he wants to put me into the position."

Kushina stiffened. "That doesn't sound good." She set a half-filled bowl in front of him and sat down with her own, uncharacteristically restraining from eating.

"He wants me to use the Hiraishin to kill most of the Iwa army."

"We both knew he would ask sooner or later. You know why he asked you. To the village, you'll be a hero."

"To the village, maybe, but in reality I will be as bad as the enemies I'm supposed to eradicate."

Kushina quickly finished her soup and stood up. "You need to rest before you attempt to work anything out. Are you hurt at all? Your team took quite the beating and I would have taken Kakashi to the hospital if it wasn't so overtaxed."

Minato left his food untouched as Kushina guided him to the bathroom. With practiced movements, Kushina sat him down on one of the low stools in front of the short table piled with first aid supplies.

"Did someone try and gut you?" She asked as Minato pulled off his shirt to reveal bloodstained bandages wrapped around his abdomen.

"No, they tried to behead Rin. They forgot I was in the way." After a second of thought, Minato pressed his hand against the storage seal on his arm and the three scrolls appeared. "Can you put these in the sealing room for me, please? It's the most secure."

Kushina took the scrolls without comment and returned as Minato started unwrapping soiled bandages.

"Rin should have at least stitched most of these up, what happened?"

"I told her to take care of the other two and by the time she finished, there was too little chakra to go around."

"Then hold still so I can patch it up." Kushina knelt beside him with the needle and thread in her hands.

"I am holding still, your hands are shaking."

"I know, blood makes me nauseous."

"You eviscerate anyone who annoys you," Minato deadpanned.

"Yes, but that's their blood, not yours. You've lost more blood than most of them do and I'm frankly constantly amazed you're still alive."

"I'm barely bleeding!"

"Maybe now, but if you add up all of the bleeding you've done since I met you, I'm pretty sure it total up to the amount of blood it takes to stay alive. Do you have some fancy way of putting it back or something?"

Minato sighed in exasperation. "Blood grows back."

"What?" Kushina shrieked in surprise.

Wincing at the volume, Minato groaned. "Remember when I almost bled out on that undercover mission?"

"Which time?"

"Hey! It only happened once and you were worse off than me by the end of it!"

"I'm not the one who takes ridiculous risks!" After a pointed glare from Minato, she amended, "Okay fine, I take crazy risks and you end up taking even crazier risks to one-up me." Another pointed glare. "Fine! I screw up and you have to stick your neck out to fix it."

"See? That wasn't so bad, your stitches are getting a lot neater!"

"You did that to distract me! I should make you take those painkillers that make you say the funniest things."

Minato let his head fall onto her shoulder, exhausted. "Can you indefinitely postpone messing with me, pretty please?"

Kushina poked a shallow cut on his knee, at which Minato yelped with unexpected pain. "If you're going to fall asleep on me, at least get out of those nasty clothes."

"We really have to figure out a way to keep the Kyuubi's seal tight, if only to get someone else for you to play dress-up with instead of me, I'm perfectly fine with sleeping in mission clothes—"

"I'm not sleeping in the same room as your nasty mission clothes, -ttebane! Now you have to shower too before I let you go to sleep!" She snapped triumphantly. Too tired to argue, Minato stood up and turned on the shower. "I was going to take a bath and finish my mission report, but I guess I have to make sure you don't drown instead. Not that I'm complaining, watching you trying to hold a bar of soap while exhausted is something I'd pay to see and enjoy even more when its free."

"Have I ever mentioned you sometimes talk too much?"

"A few times, but I just ignore you since I know you really don't mind my voice."


	48. Chapter 48

**Plans Part 2**

 **(-)**

Minato awoke feeling like an overgrown pillow as Kushina's arms and legs tightened around him and she drooled slightly into her own hair. Obito's surprised yelp followed by something clattering to the ground, Kakashi's annoyed growl and Rin's giggle had Kushina off him in an instant and in the kitchen scolding his team for stealing her underwear. Holding back a laugh, Minato shrugged on his clothes, followed her at a pace much more acceptable for the morning and finished waking his wife with a lightning-charged poke in the side.

"You didn't really steal my underwear did you?" Kushina asked, unembarrassed by the fact she was barely dressed, and sending a pointed glare at Obito. The mortified and frightened team shook their heads quickly. "Good. In that case, I'll get dressed while an _adult_ makes breakfast, not clumsy Genin."

"They're Chuunin, Kushina," Minato reminded her and tripped Obito before he could march forward and earn Kushina's wrath with an inappropriate comment.

"When they start acting more like a Chuunin team, I'll call them Chuunin. Until then, they're Genin."

Minato kicked the elbowed out of Obito before he could respond and no doubt land himself in the hospital.

"Sometimes, I really think you just enjoy beating me up." Obito growled angrily.

"Sometimes, I really do," Minato retorted.

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed.

"But overall, I enjoy having you as a student more than I want to murder you." The Jōnin barely caught Kakashi as he tried to make a break from the room in anger and consequently run flat into Kushina. "You're not going anywhere, Kakashi, until both Rin and I declare you medically fit to be on your own."

Under his mask, Kakashi's jaw flexed angrily. "I'm fine," the boy snapped.

"No, you're not," Minato argued as Kushina took his place making breakfast. "Go sit down."

"Make me!"

In a movement too fast to see, Minato grabbed Kakashi's shoulder and dug his fingers into painful pressure points. "Sit," Minato ordered.

"Or what?" Kakashi grunted back. "You have no authority to detain me here—"

"First, I have legal custody of you as your sensei. Second, I am certified as an inactive medic. Third, I have the ability, even if you don't respect my authority."

"Mr. Perfect is in _trouble_!" Obito taunted.

Both Minato and a now-fully-dressed Kushina threw a kunai towards him. A soft clang marked the kunai colliding and altering the other's flight just enough to land them in the chair on either side of Obito's neck. Had the trajectory of either kunai been the slightest bit different, both Minato and Kushina's respective kunai would have killed him. As it stood, they effectively silenced the Uchiha. Minato dragged Kakashi back to the table like a reluctant child.

"Minato, are you going to tell them about their new mission now or wait until later?" Kushina asked as she placed breakfast on the table.

"The scroll is in the other room."

"I'll get it," Kushina jumped up and left.

A minute later she returned with the three scrolls Minato brought home the night before. Minato shoved the last of his breakfast into his mouth as she took his plate and replaced it with the scrolls.

"My role in the mission is to get close to the students and teach for two weeks. The day before their official Genin test, your role in the mission will begin. You are to help stage my assassination. Kushina will be leading you in this since she has more experience in attempting my murder than anyone else, foreign shinobi included. Their reactions and their performance on the Genin test the next day will determine whether or not they will graduate and be placed on teams to assist in the war effort. Your second role is to prevent word from spreading beyond the Academy."

"What rank?" Kakashi asked over Obito's indignant shout.

"It's a B-rank. Konoha needs fit Genin who can function on their own to man the supply lines."

"They're just kids, you can't do something like that to them!" Obito's shouts turned into angry words.

"Experiences like theirs will be are normally staged by Jōnin senseis. Jōnin senseis are in short supply and they don't have time to train. We can only accept those who can function in high-stress positions."

"What are you talking about? You never gave us any test like that!" Rin snapped.

"You're right, I didn't because as soon as I got to know you, I realized you would pass the test without a problem so I never gave it to you. The Academy students however, don't get the luxury you did because we are at war right now. The Genin teams will be led by whatever Jōnin are in the village at the time, they will have out-of-village missions where they have no superior officers on the field with them. We can't afford to have those Genin slaughtered by their own mistakes."

"That's cold, Sensei," Obito growled.

"It's cold or dead, Obito," Minato snapped back, patience thin. "Are you going to take this mission, or am I going to have to find a replacement?"

The team nodded. Obito and Rin clenched their teeth in disgust, but they still agreed.


	49. Chapter 49

**Plans Part 3**

 _Two weeks later_

 _Itachi just turned 2_

 **(-)**

"Still no chance of telling me if I'm going to die today?" Minato said as he slung a small bag over his shoulder.

"Not at all, Namikaze," Kushina responded, leaning against the wall and watching him slyly.

"If you don't hurry up, one of those kids might just do your job for you. I've lost count of how many kunai I've had to block and how many jutsu I've had to step in the way of so the kids didn't kill each other. Believe me, it's not fun to be hit by one of the Uchiha's Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu, even if it's the size of a toddler."

"Jutsu aren't supposed to have pleasant results."

"If you say so," Minato shrugged. "Love you," he said as he pressed his hands together in a seal.

"Love you too," Kushina responded and he vanished before the words died on her lips to reappear in front of the Academy.

"Minato-sensei!" The children's voices cried in excitement. Minato smiled at them.

"What are we learning today?"

"Can you show us a cool jutsu?"

"Will you help me practice after school?"

"Can shinobi see in the dark?"

"Can I be your girlfriend?"

"Wait, what?" Minato glanced down at the group of girls the voice came from. "I'm married!"

"Dozens of legitimate questions and that is the one you chose to answer?" One of the Academy teachers smirked at him.

Choosing to ignore the jibe, Minato addressed all the students. "Everyone into the classroom and I can start answering questions!"

The children rushed into the Academy, competing for the best seats.

"You make my job easier, but I don't like the idea of traumatizing these kids before they set foot in the field."

"I don't like it either, Fujioka-san, but under the circumstances, this is the most effective course of action." Minato hurried inside after the children. "Everybody find a seat!" He called out, taking his place at the front of the room. The children rushed to obey. "From now on, it's going to be almost entirely practical! It's less than a week until you take the graduation test, so if you haven't learned the material for the written test already, you're going to fail. Everyone head towards the training grounds now!"

The kids rushed out. Minato waited until the last one left before turning to follow and finding his path blocked.

"Hi, Fugaku!" Minato smiled widely at his old Genin teammate.

"Mission roster said you were in the village." Fugaku said frantically as he grabbed Minato's arm.

"Only for a few more weeks. What happened? Why are you so shaken up?"

"Except for a handful of the elderly, there are no Uchiha even stationed in the village. The Sharringan is desperately needed on every front of the war. All of the other clan children are either Genin or Academy age so it's not a problem, they spend the entire day at the Academy and only need to go home to sleep, but Itachi is too young for the Academy, and too young to stay home alone."

"Both you and Mikoto have been called out onto the field, haven't you?"

"Mikoto's been out on the field for over a year. I've been in charge of village security but now they're short on people, could you…?" Fugaku gestured helplessly towards the toddler hiding his face in the crook of his knee.

"He can stay with me, but in a few weeks, I'm going to be leaving too."

"That's fine, I should be back by then. If worst comes to worst, he can stay alone at you house, your security is plenty good, your house is child-proof and you can use your Hiraishin to check on him. Everyone knows you check on Kushina all the time."

Minato stared at Fugaku, at a loss for words.

"Please, Minato, he doesn't need much, but no one in my clan is capable of taking care of a toddler, and he's too much of a target to leave with a civilian family, not to mention they won't know how to take care of a shinobi child."

Minato glanced on at the little boy fixated on his kunai pouch. "There's a place where shinobi children stay, most of the Academy lives there." Minato extracted his arm from Fugaku's grasp.

"They don't have the space or the security."

"I don't like this idea, Fugaku," Minato said as he crouched down to Itachi's height.

"The only other option is to take him onto the field with me and everyone knows what happens to kids after that, especially if I—"

"Don't go down that road, Fugaku, it's not a place you want to be."

"So will you?"

"Of course."

"Thank you!"

"Hurry and go, you're late for mission departures."

Fugaku crouched and placed his hands on Itachi's shoulders. "You're going to stay at Minato's house until Kaa-san or I get back, okay? You might be alone a lot, so be good, can you do that for me?"

Itachi's bottom lip trembled but he nodded.

"Bye-bye, Itachi-chan."

"Bye-bye," the boy chorused.

Fugaku gave the boy a quick hug before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

"You Otou-san's friend."

"Yes I am. I have a class to teach right now, do you want to come help me?"

Itachi nodded eagerly.

"Good!"

Minato poked the boy's forehead, making the child giggle. "You my friend too!"

"Yes I am. Ready for a ride?"

"Ride!"

Minato set the child on his shoulders and raced towards the training grounds, Itachi screaming in delight on his shoulders. "Minato-sensei! Minato-sensei!" The Academy children cried as Minato appeared in their midst.

"Everyone find a partner! We're going to be practicing dodging today!" Minato placed Itachi on the lower branches of a tree overlooking the field. "One partner is going to stand on the white line and the other is going to stand in front of one of the targets on the throwing range. The person standing on the white line is going to receive twenty kunai and forty shuriken. They're going to throw the weapons at the person in front of the targets. Any questions?"

"Won't we hurt our partners?" A girl asked.

"The kunai and shuriken are dulled, they won't puncture the skin, but they will leave bruises. The person standing in front of the target is trying to dodge the throws without moving out of the box marked around the target. Do not aim for the head, neck, or groin, otherwise you can cause your future comrades injury. Any other questions?" Minato waited a moment. "Good, no crying if you get hit because you'll get hit a lot. In three hours, we'll break for lunch and you will switch positions. If I catch anyone wearing armor of any sort or deflecting the kunai and shuriken, you'll be doing this drill until the sun sets, but I'll be the one throwing and you won't be able to dodge anything. Cheating while training gets you killed. To those throwing, push your partners, but don't give them something they can't handle. If you give them too little or too much, you'll be the ones responsible for their deaths. Any questions? Begin!"

The students obeyed and started the drill. Minato watched carefully, occasionally catching a bad shot before it could do any damage. After an hour, Itachi leapt out of the tree and ran up to Minato. "I want do too!"

Minato caught a shuriken before it could catch Itachi in the side of the head. "Sorry, kid, not here, I'll show you a few things afterwards, okay?"

Itachi looked up at him, pleading. Smiling, Minato picked the boy up and tossed him in the air. Squealing with delight, Itachi drew the attention of the entire class. Minato swung him down and set him gently on his feet. Itachi beamed up at him. A shadow blocked the sun from shining on the boy's face. Horror settled over Minato as he felt someone appear at his back. The Jōnin spun around and blocked the first attack. One of the girls screamed as a second assailant thrust a kunai into his side.

Without thinking, Minato _reacted_. Suddenly, he no longer stood in the center of the academy training grounds but abandoned in the front lines of the war, enemy ninja coming from every direction. He swung a Rasengan at one of his assailants. Someone intercepted it, knocking his hand sharply to the side. A lock of red hair fell out of the cloth obscuring the ninja's identity. Minato froze, the real situation sinking in. Kushina grabbed his outstretched arm and twisted it behind his back, forcing him to face the students. Her arm snaked around his neck, preparing to break it as he struggled. Almost all of the children screamed. Kushina's arm tightened.

Before everything turned black, he watched in horror as Itachi's Sharringan swirled to life.


	50. Chapter 50

**Plans Part 4**

 **(MINATO)**

"It's nice to see you up and moving for once, Minato," Kushina said as she walked into the hospital room where Minato rested.

"You didn't have to convince Jōnin, Kushina, just a bunch of almost-Genin. I don't care what your defense is, you most certainly did not have to put me in the hospital to accomplish that."

"Well, it was Kakashi's idea, -ttebane."

"No, it wasn't, I know it was yours. A few weeks ago, you were the one who asked what would happen if you—"

"Okay, fine, it was my idea and I bullied you little Genin into going along with it, but you're not dead, so there. You could have faked your death right then and there and It would have probably fooled the Hokage."

"Kushina—never mind, you won't listen. How long until Tsunade releases me?"

"That's why I'm here, but you're put under house arrest for another few days."

"Why do I feel like that was more your idea than hers?"

"Because it was all my idea and Tsunade thinks you don't get enough sleep."

"You better have planned out something to do."

"Yep! Remember that old room we've been stashing stuff in for awhile?"

"What about it?"

"Well, I think Kakashi has been living on our couch for too long."

"He technically has his own place."

"Which he rarely sleeps at. Besides, the boy is ten, he needs someone to take care of him and so do the rest of your Genin."

"They're Chuunin now, Kushina."

"Bah, I don't care. By the time we made Chuunin, the two of us could run circles around any decent Jōnin. There's three of them and they can't agree on which way is up."

"They're not that bad. Our teamwork is a once-in-a-generation anomaly. We can't hold everyone to the same standards."

"So you're lowering your expectations for your Genin?"

"No, I scare the hell out of them when I want something done and let them act however they want when it doesn't really matter. They'll catch on eventually."

"They may catch on, but will it be fast enough?"

"Probably not, but I can't force them to work together or they'll never trust each other."

"Come on, let's go clean out that room of all the stuff we've forgotten about."

(-.-)

"This might take weeks!" Minato said as he surveyed the piles of odds and ends filling the dusty room.

"I'm pretty sure we can throw out most of the stuff, the rest we can seal away for when we need it."

"I left a lot of my father's things in here when I moved in."

"I remember bringing some of Sakumo's stuff from the Hatake compound."

"Remember how we used to hide seals we weren't supposed to be making from the Sandaime?"

"I always wondered where you put those."

"There should be a small, black metal box that won't open for anyone but me. Both my mother and my father had one and they carried papers in them, mostly identification and their will, I never went through them, but I hid those seals we made in them."

"I remember those. You used to keep them under your bed at Sakumo's house."

"I kept a lot of boxes under my bed."

"Yeah, most of them were clan records that you stole, right?"

"I'm still not entirely happy you read those, but it's ancient history now."

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

Without another word, the two began to sort through the mixture of trash and memorabilia.

A few hours later, Minato stumbled upon a small innocuous black box. He opened it and shuffled through the papers. At the very bottom was a folded letter tied with black string and the name of Minato's mother written on the top in his father's handwriting. Minato glanced across the room where Kushina sat buried in papers before opening the letter.

(-.-)

 _My Kotone,_

 _It's been a year and a day since your death. Part of me wishes the memories would fade, that I would forget you, but I know I won't forget. I'll always remember you smiling, of course, and the way you used to stand at my shoulder and fix whenever I was about to mess something up. I know I'll always remember the way you would silently make sure I didn't forget anything. I hate that I never did tell you how much it meant to me. Worst of all, I fear I'll never be able to forget the way you were just lying in the center of the street. I wanted nothing more but to just die with you. Sometimes it terrifies me that I nearly ended my own life there. Other times, I wish I had. I wish I had died there and taken our son with me to avoid the pain, to avoid watching my boy and myself fall to pieces without the woman we both built our life around._

 _Minato still remembers everything about you. On his good days, he tells me stories of things the two of you did while I was on missions. I expect you to walk through the door at any second and smile as you add in a detail only you would know. His favorite outing was when you brought him to the top of the waterfall and held him over the edge, the water rushing down beneath him. He felt like he was about to fly. I know the place. I remember how I leapt off the falls on a dare. I also remember how you pulled me out of the water at the bottom and never explained why. Minato always continues the story, but I never know what he says because I'm so lost in my own memories._

 _Most of the time, I know I'll be fine. I know I'll keep surviving. I promise you I will be. Eventually. I remember us promising to always live on when Minato was born. I remember how you made me swear Minato would always have a mother and a father. I couldn't keep that promise, Kotone, I'm sorry. I promise you I will make sure our child grows up well, but you're the only mother he'll ever have._

 _It wasn't long ago that Minato started at Konoha's Academy. I hate it, and he does as well. He skips, just like he used to avoid the children's program in Taki. The smartest child there is the dead last of his class. Fortunately, the irony makes me smile. The Hokage has mentioned it to me a few times. I told him to speak with Minato about it, the boy is responsible for his own grades and attendance after all. I know exactly what his answer will be. Maybe it will spur the man to alter the curriculum for the better._

 _We need you here, Kotone. I need you here. My worst fear is that Osamu won't be happy with the tentative peace we've made. I fear he will return. I fear that I will be the next to die in his quest for power. I fear that Minato will be there to see it. He went mad for a time when you died, he slaughtered the man who killed you. I never thought my own child could terrify me like Minato did that day. He was possessed. Now, I know it was grief, but if it happens again, who will be there to stop him? Who would be capable of stopping him? Our boy is strong, Kotone. I know he can become the strongest shinobi since the Sage of Six Paths. I saw it in him that day and his empty eyes nearly dragged me into the madness that consumed him. I pulled him out of it once. It felt like hours before he stopped crying about murder. When the madness wore off, he was so broken. For days I couldn't bear to let go of him, it was like holding a newborn. He wouldn't eat or sleep, I don't think he heard a word I said. He only kept mumbling about the pain. Sometimes he would start scrubbing his hands, trying to scrape off the blood, even after I bathed him so many times._

 _The look in his eyes was worse than the most broken of shinobi. He's so young. He's supposed to be laughing and playing with the other children. He's supposed to be learning to read kanji and exploring Konoha's wonderful library, not curled in a corner staring at old clan texts he's read hundreds of times. Most days I can pull him out, I can take him outside, persuade him to interact with the other children, but some days I can barely get up and take care of myself, much less my son. The rest of the clan is terrified of him. I hate them for it. Can't they see that he's just a broken little boy I'm trying to piece back together?_

 _Yesterday, he asked me about death and murder and right and wrong. How am I supposed to explain to a five-year-old that his mother died because of his uncle's lust for power? How am I supposed to help him reconcile with the fact that the frightening bedtime stories we used to tell him were all real? How am I supposed to answer him when he realizes that all of those stories were actual events, sanitized for his age? How am I supposed to tell my boy that he's a murderer? How am I supposed to make him understand that it's not his fault?_

 _It's worse during the night. He hasn't been sleeping well, to put it mildly. Several times a night he wakes up thrashing and screaming. He runs to the bathroom before I can stop him and will spend hours scrubbing his hands and trying to wash off the blood that isn't there If I let him. I've come home from missions to find he's scraped most of his skin off with a kunai. After one overnight mission I returned to find my baby boy had attempted suicide and would have succeeded had I returned a few minutes later. He was four! How can one so young, barely out of infancy, think of such an awful act? Why do I have to make my boy promise to be alive when I return?_

 _They say the first year is the hardest, but I can't see the grief going away. The clan teaches us to rationalize our emotions, but grief and doubt are things we never learn to come to terms with. I can rationalize what I feel but I can't stop feeling. How can I help our son if I can't help myself? I want nothing more than to give my boy a few more minutes with his mother. I know that could never happen._

 _It won't be long now before Minato wakes from his nightmares. When he does, I'm going to actually be there for him. I won't be going anywhere or doing anything until he understands. The pain has gone on long enough. I hope I can convince myself as well._

 _With my love,_

 _Masao_

(-.-)

"Your father was a good man, Minato," Kushina said as she read the letter over his shoulder.

Minato leaned into her embrace. "I still remember them, Kushina. I remember their faces, I remember the melody my mother would hum when she was alone, I remember my father teaching me tricks, tricks that have all kept me alive at some point—" Minato broke off.

"We've never really talked about our lives before we met."

"Because most of the time is filled with too many clan secrets."

"Well, I knew your father."

"Really?"

"Not very well, but well enough."

"How?"

"He was a part of the team that brought me from Uzushiogakure."

"I wouldn't have guessed."

"Yeah, he managed to get there right after the village was destroyed. His team managed to drive off the scavengers but there weren't any survivors except me. My parents had locked me in the basement and collapsed the house on top of me, killing themselves and the enemy team attacking the house. It had been almost five days before your father's team arrived and found me. There was another kid trapped in a hasty stasis seal, but by the time I managed to release him, he was dead, help had come too late."

Minato put an arm around her waist and they sat together in front of the box with the letter draped across it.

"Since your father was a medic the only one on the team with a kid, coincidentally the same age as me, they put him in charge of making sure I got pact to Konoha in one piece. For the first day of the trip back I hated him. I thought he was too happy and inconsiderate and a slew of other unfavorable adjectives. But I couldn't sleep that night. I knew he should have been the most exhausted of the team, but he sat up with me next to the fire. At first he tried to persuade me to rest but I flat out ignored him. We spent the rest of the night just staring at the fire. The next night was the same, except I was the one joining him in the vigil.

"I asked him why he couldn't sleep. He answered that it was because another family had been senselessly destroyed in another quest for power. I asked what he was talking about and he responded that his own clan had been decimated under circumstances not much different than my own. I tried to tease out details, but he just stared at the fire and ignored me. I guess I deserved that.

"On the third night I told him how I had watched my parents' fight with the team through cracks in the floor. I told him everything, how I watched my mother killed by a katana through her back. Your father looked incredibly sad when I told him that but I ignored the expression and told him how my father hadn't died in the explosion that brought the house down. He had been slowly crushed to death by a beam of wood and the heap of rubble. It took him three days to die, slowly suffocated by the weight. I had put four chairs together and a table on top of them so I could lay directly underneath my father and talk to him, beg him to be alright, sing to him. The rubble had broken his back. He couldn't move, otherwise he would have pushed the rubble off himself. All that time and he couldn't even respond. I couldn't even see his face."

Minato kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I don't remember exactly what your father told me, in fact, I don't remember much of what happened, but he helped me work through the grief, come to terms with the fact that my parents, my friends, my clan, were all dead. He was the one who made sure I wasn't overrun with hatred, that what happened didn't irrevocably change my disposition. I do remember he mentioned that I would find a great friend in his son if I cared to try. I guess he was right, though I doubt it came around like he expected."

"It most certainly did not. I'm sure he didn't expect you to put me in the hospital after countless missions."

"Hey, they weren't all my fault!"

"No, of course not, just most of them."

"If you were anyone else, I would have beaten you over the head for that."

"Yes, but you love me, so you're going to beat Kakashi over the head for telling me your entire plan last night."

"He did not!"

"Yes, he did. I hope you've been taking care if Itachi since you unceremoniously dropped me in the hospital and placed me under house arrest."

"I'm just as good as you at information-gathering and I made sure Rin took him straight to the hospital and showed him you weren't really dead, and it was all just a test—"

Minato groaned. "Fugaku is going to murder me, and when he's done, he's going to resurrect me and give Mikoto her turn. Itachi has the Sharingan."

"Most of the Uchiha develop it at some point—"

"He's two!"

"Really? I thought he was five. Is he tall for his age?"

"No," Minato deadpanned.

"Well, the little bastard is taking a nap in our room, since I didn't want him to roll off the couch. We really need to get this room cleaned out."

"Right, because we really need a room to justify taking in all of our little strays and making Kakashi share his living space with little strangers."

"Kakashi is still little. He can deal with a few temporary little brothers and sisters."

"This discussion won't ever really be settled, will it?"

"Probably not."

"Mm, then, since this is your project, I'm going to settle down right here and take a well-deserved nap."

"You're lying in my lap."

"I do believe I am, Kushina. I see what you like so much about human pillows."

"So does that mean you'll stop griping when I—"

"Most certainly not! At least I don't slobber all over you and treat whatever is in my grasp like a piece of food when I'm asleep."

"I do not slobber!"

"Sure you don't, I am just very particular about the fact that I am not your ramen and food is not to be slept with."

"You may have a point, but how am I supposed to do anything right now with you lying on top of me?"

"Look to your eight o'clock. There's a nice big box labelled 'Sealing Theories of the Shinobi Nations' just within arm's reach that was supposed to be your birthday present that took me most of this war to steal and compile without you noticing. Happy Very Early Birthday."

"You're just trying to get a nap on your wife."

"No, I just know you've been deployed to the Kiri front, effective tomorrow and I want an hour or two of peaceful sleep before you leave."

Kushina didn't turn to open the promised gift, she bent and kissed Minato's temple while she removed the hitai-ate that had barely left his head in years and laid it beside her own. Gently, rhythmically, she started to brush her fingers through his hair, humming the only soft tune their childhoods held in common. "My love, my love, sleep sweet and safe, for demons will n'er draw near this place. Sleep sweet and safe…"


	51. Chapter 51

**Pregnancy**

 _Just some short scenes from Kushina's pregnancy. Part fluff, and a bit of character development. It begins shortly after Kushina tells Minato she's pregnant. If you haven't gotten the birds and the bees talk, pretend the chapter before was the end of this story. There's also a bit of a language and pregnancy content._

 **(MINATO AND KUSHINA)**

 _Sharing the news with Jiraiya_

"Sensei! Sensei! Guess what! Guess what!"

"Shut up, gaki, can't you tell I have a wicked hangover?"

"Fine, hold on." Minato put his hand on Jiraiya's forehead and released a pulse of healing chakra to alleviate the hangover.

"Ahh, it pays to have a genius student, even though your cure isn't as good as Tsunade's."

"Only you would think insulting the person who could give you a headache ten times worse is the best course of action."

"At least Tsunade understands what it's like to be drunk and pipes down when she's healing. When was the last time you got out, gaki?"

"You know what, I'm just going to tell Kushina that I told you the news and you were too drunk to remember. I always did enjoy watching her beat you to the Valley of the End and back."

"That little twerp couldn't touch me if she tried."

"I seem to remember a very different ending to your last visit home." Minato flicked his sensei's forehead. "Are you listening to me now?"

"Fine, fine, what's got you more excited than a Genin on a sugar high?"

"I'm going to be a father!"

"Ow! Volume, gaki! Now what's got you all worked up?"

"I'm going to be a father, you old pervert!"

"I take back my earlier statement about you not getting out. What have you been drinking and you better hand it over right now because I want some. What gave you the idea you were my father?"

"I don't even know why I bothered. Enjoy your hangover and I'm not going to be the one dragging your sorry butt to the Hospital after Kushina gets through with you." Minato stormed off.

"I honestly don't know what I said," Jiraiya mumbled to himself and shifted into a more comfortable position on the bar stool before falling back asleep.

(-.-)

 _Breaking the news to Kakashi_

"So, Kakashi, when a man and a woman love each other very much—"

Kakashi shifted awkwardly in his pajamas where Kushina had sat him down beside her. "Um, Kushina—"

"Something very special happens—"

A snort sounded from the adjacent room as Minato appeared, rubbing a towel through his hair, even while it dripped down his torso and moistened the waistband of his sweatpants. "Kushina, there's no need to traumatize my student, I've already gave him the news."

"Well, that doesn't mean—"

"Kakashi, go to bed, you have a mission in the morning and it's already late."

The boy leapt to his feet and dashed out of the room with all the speed the prodigy could muster.

"Have you forgotten that I'm the only person allowed to torture my student, Kushina?"

"Well, I don't have any students to torture—"

"I offered you a Genin team a few months ago, that's all your fault."

"Oh fine, but I was really looking forward to telling him and watching him squirm!"

"Sorry to ruin your fun, but I need him functioning tomorrow morning, not comatose."

"You should have taken a longer shower."

Minato leaned over and kissed the top of Kushina's head, the towel falling in her lap.

"Towels are for drying people off, not making other people wet, Minato. On a more serious note, did you come up with any new ideas for the chakra-trapping seals around the house? The current ones won't be enough once the seal starts to loosen."

"Yeah, I sketched one out but I left it in my office."

"You get way too much enjoyment out of calling that place your office."

"Can you blame me? Anyways, do you want me to go get it?"

"It can wait until tomorrow, now go dry off for real this time."

(-.-)

 _Mornings_

"Minato?" Kushina moaned.

"What?" He answered from the closet.

"I don't feel too good."

"I really can't do anything about that."

"Well, you're a mostly certified medic!"

"Kushina, it's just morning sickness, there isn't a jutsu that can fix that."

"Can you pretty please invent one? This is the second day in a row!"

"I love you Kushina, but I really don't have that kind of medical skill. Write a message to Tsunade, she might know a trick to help, and I'll make sure it gets to her."

"But Minato!"

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No."

Minato pulled on his haori and looked down at Kushina, who had made no effort to wake up properly. "Is there something special you would like for breakfast?"

"Breakfast is my job to make."

"Well, are you going to make it?"

"No."

"Then I am. Do you want anything?"

"No."

"Okay, I'll see you this afternoon."

(-.-)

 _Destinations_

"Minato?"

"I'm sorry, there was an accident outside the village and everyone was too superstitious to investigate. I sent a message, did you get it? Did I wake you?"

"I got it, I couldn't sleep, it's not about the incident."

"I heated up some ramen from a few nights ago, want some?"

"No."

"Okay? What's wrong?"

"He's going to have to be a shinobi, won't he?" Kushina knelt beside his chair and leaned against Minato's side.

"Who?"

"Our baby."

Minato laid his chopsticks down and dropped his head into his hands. "Yes, he will have to be a shinobi and a damn good one."

"So he's not going to get any choice in the matter?"

"No."

"Because of who we are?"

"Yes."

"And only because of that?"

"Yes."

"So just by having this child we put his life in danger?"

"We can't help who we are, Kushina, but we can and will be the most powerful parents our baby could ever hope to have. He will be completely safe in this house."

"But will he ever be safe anywhere else?"

"I-I don't know."

(-.-)

 _Week Ten_

"Minato? Why hasn't the baby come yet?"

"It's only been ten weeks, Kushina."

"Exactly! I thought babies were due in nine!"

"Nine months, Kushina, not nine weeks."

"Well, it should be nine weeks."

"Of course, but we haven't even finished the nursery yet!"

"Well, I've finished the safety seals!"

"Sure you have. Where are they?"

"In my head."

"Any why haven't you written them down?"

"Because I'm so tired!"

"Then go take a nap."

"I just woke up from a nap!"

"Did you now?"

"I woke up just before you got home."

"It's Sunday, Kushina. I haven't gone anywhere."

"How is it Sunday? It feels like a Wednesday!"

"You barely slept last night, go take a nap."

"But I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Well, um, you have to sleep for two now."

"You're bullshitting me."

"Yes, I am, now go take a nap."

"Well, you're not supposed to admit it!"

"Then you should get some rest and stop swaying like you're drunk."

"I've never been drunk."

"Good for you, I haven't either."

"But I wanna get drunk!"

"I'm sure you do."

"Can you get drunk for me?"

"No, now, sleep."

"Okay."

"Good."

(-.-)

 _Sleepless Nights_

"Minato?"

"Mm?"

"Minato?"

"Hm?"

"Minato!"

"What?"

"Is the baby going to keep us up at night?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"Because it already is."

"It is?"

"It's the middle of the night, Kushina."

"So?"

"And are you asleep?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I'm worried about the baby."

"Mm."

"Oh, you're right."

"Go back to sleep."

"But Minato—"

Minato rolled over and kissed her forehead. "There is absolutely nothing that can be done about anything right now, Kushina. Okay? Go to sleep, you need your rest and I have a mission tomorrow."

(-.-)

 _Joy_

"Minato! Minato!" Kushina screamed excitedly.

"What? What happened? Is everything alright?" Minato flew around the corner and nearly slammed face-first into the kitchen cupboard.

"Guess what! Guess what! Guess! Guess!"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about!"

"I'm going to have a baby!"

"I almost broke my nose because you didn't deliver the news with enough excitement the first time?"

"No, that's not it. I'm actually having a baby!"

"Yes, yes you are. Why is this new news?" Minato said as Kushina leapt circles around him

"It just sunk in! I'm actually having a baby! I've wanted on for so long and now—"

"Yes, yes, but do you realize I was in the middle of a council meeting when you turned on the _emergency_ beacon? And probably overloaded the entire house with chakra."

"Oops. I'll turn them off?"

"And think of something for me to tell the council."

"Bah, they're not important, all they get to do is bore you to death yammering about things they want to happen, slamming the Uchiha, and more boring stuff."

"Kushina, I haven't even been Hokage for a year, I have to listen to them, at least for a little while longer."

"Right."

There was an awkward silence as Kushina stopped her orbit, clutching her head.

"I'm so dizzy," Kushina groaned, turning green.

"I guess I'm not going back to the council meeting," Minato told himself as he quickly guided Kushina to the sink.

(-.-)

 _Growing_

"I feel bigger than a bear."

"I fail to see what that has to do with standing on the ceiling of my office, Kushina." Minato handed the freshly signed document to the waiting Chuunin team. They turned to leave, casting frightened looks at the woman standing upside-down beside their Kage with her hair sweeping the ground.

"Wait!" Kushina called. They stopped and looked up at her. "Do I look as big as a bear?" She demanded of the shinobi.

The youngest Chuunin grunted an unintelligible answer.

Minato rubbed his temples.

"I think you look more like a beanpole with a rag tied around the middle." A second Chuunin said without thinking.

Kushina smiled wickedly and the four Chuunin trembled in their shoes.

"Thank you for being honest with me. Now get out before I—" The Chuunin were gone before she finished the first word. "Too bad, I kind-of wanted Chuunin-heart soup tonight."

There was a beat of silence before both erupted into laughter. "Did you see the team leader's expression when the kid actually answered?" Minato managed to gasp out.

"That was priceless! I don't look like a beanpole, do I?"

"You look like a perfectly beautiful young woman, Kushina."

"Shouldn't I have been starting to show already?" She asked, falling onto Minato's lap and poking her stomach. Minato put his hand between her fingers and stomach.

"Stop antagonizing the baby. You'll start to show in a week or two."

(-.-)

 _Cravings_

"I'm hungry," Kushina stated, staring as Minato, who sat across from her on the couch, reading.

"Then get something to eat."

"I want a kunai."

"Kakashi left two on the end table behind you. Please don't throw them at me."

"Why would I want to throw a kunai at you?"

"Biwako told me you might start throwing things at me for no reason so I wanted to be sure."

"But I want to eat the kunai."

"Wait, what?"

"I don't know."

"I'm going to pretend that's the baby talking and he has no idea what a kunai is."

"How do you know he's a he?"

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"Exactly."

"What if he's a girl?"

Both stared at each other, completely stumped.

"How can both of you be so naïve?" Kakashi asked, turning around from his seat in the adjacent kitchen where he was filling out a mission report.

"Well, I'll be sure to bow to your immeasurable wisdom when it is needed." Minato looked up and smirked at the scowling Jōnin. "Come sit with us for a while, Kakashi, I know you finished your mission report by its due date even though you haven't turned it in."

The teenager scowled and turned back to his work.

Minato marked his page and tossed the book onto the coffee table, before it scooted against the far wall. Kushina joined his smirk and they mirrored hand seals. Kakashi shouted in alarm as he landed on the couch between them.

"You just need a good teasing from your big brother," Kushina prescribed.

Kakashi tried to leap up from the couch but Minato tackled him. The Jōnin writhed, an action that would have dislodged him from the grasp of anyone else except the one who taught him the trick. The wrestling match ended when Kushina stood up and crouched in front of where Kakashi lay pinned, tapping his forehead in the most irritating way possible.

"Cut it out!" Kakashi scowled.

"What's this?" Minato asked pulling a scroll from one of Kakashi's pockets.

"Hey! Give that back!"

"Looks like one of the jutsu planning scrolls I gave you for your birthday. Why don't you share what you've been researching?" Minato picked Kakashi up from the ground and all three fell back on the couch.

"I've been studying Fūinjutsu," Kakashi muttered as Minato opened the scroll and raised a questioning eyebrow in the teen's direction.

"So what do you want this seal to do?"

Grudgingly, Kakashi answered, "I want it to either be capable of reverting something to its state a few seconds before or either be able to regenerate whatever its attached to."

"So basically you want to create an antidote to your Chidori?" Minato concluded.

Kakashi nodded and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Right, well, it's a good thing you've got the two best seal masters in the world to help you out or it could take you a lifetime to develop something this ambitious."

"You think it can be done?" Kakashi asked hopefully.

Minato shrugged. "Yep! I'd wager about a year of constant work could do it, but with the time we'll be able to spend on it together, it will probably take a bit longer. Don't worry, I gained a mastery of sealing in less than two years. You're not as young, so it might be a bit harder, but you'll enjoy the challenge. It's great to know someone is actually interested in our work!"

"Seconded!" Kushina chorused.

Kakashi smiled.

(-.-)

 _The Book_

"Kushina? I have something for you."

"I'm in the kitchen, I have something for you too!"

"Smells like ramen."

"It is."

"Good, I'm hungry."

"Why?"

"Um, because I haven't had time to take a break since breakfast?"

"Of course that's why you're hungry, but why do you have something for me?"

"Because I'm tired of you asking me pregnancy questions."

"But you know all the answers!"

"I'm a guy, Kushina, I really have no idea if your right knee is supposed to be heavier than your left if you wear a necklace of grapes on the last Tuesday of your first trimester."

"What does that mean?"

"I have no idea, you're the one who asked it. Fugaku says his wife is willing to answer the rest of your questions, and there's an open invitation for you to visit."

"Fugaku's being uncharacteristically hospitable. Why?"

"He's trying out a new delinquent rehabilitation program."

"I'm not a delinquent."

"Then why do pranks keep following you around?"

"Unlucky, I guess."

"Kushina, you're going stir crazy without missions."

"So? I should be able to prank whomever I please!"

"Yes, but is it really necessary to prank the tabby cat minding its own business?"

"You know Minato, sometimes I have no idea what to think about you. You forgot to give me what you said you had for me."

"Oh! Right, here it is." Minato traded the scroll for the bowl of food.

"You know those pregnancy books bore me to tears, Minato, so what makes this scroll any different?"

"You'll enjoy it, I promise, alright? I promised to meet Danzo to argue over the necessity of having three separate militaries and I'm hoping he listens to my proposal, so I really have to be on time, can I take this with me?"

"Sure, can I come? You've been talking about this proposal for weeks, but haven't explained any of it."

"If you really want, but I thought you hated Danzo."

"Oh, if he's actually going to be there then I'll stay here."

(-.-)

 _Fear_

"Minato! Minato!" Kushina screamed hysterically, shooting upright. Lightning fast, Minato twisted where he lay and slammed his hand onto the floor beside his mat. His chakra pulsed though the room, filling the room with a thousand lines of sealing and a pale blue light. The light slowly faded once it became clear the two were alone.

"Kushina? What is it? What happened?" Minato sat up and reached for her.

"Stop!" She grabbed Minato's forearm and slammed him onto his back.

He grunted, but didn't move as Kushina's hair tightened around his neck.

"Prove you're Minato. Please!"

Slowly, Minato twisted the arm Kushina held in her grasp. She let go and pressed her thumb against the inside of his upper arm. He winced as Kushina channeled chakra directly into his skin. Seal lines spread across his skin and Kushina released the tension in her hair before it broke his neck. Careful not to make any sudden movements, Minato sat up and brushed Kushina's hair back into its proper place while she sobbed into his chest.

"I'm right here, Kushina, we're completely safe, I promise," Minato murmured into her ear.

Kushina only clutched him harder with one arm and rubbed the skin over his heart as if to make sure it remained intact.

Once he exhausted a slew of gentle reminders and reassurances, Minato asked, "What happened, Kushina?"

"Not now, Minato."

"Yes, now. We promised not to face the dreams, the nightmares alone, remember?"

Kushina's grip tightened even further.

"I'm not going to let you face it alone."

After a long minute, Kushina relented. "Remember that mission that went bad at the beginning of the war where we were caught pilfering information?"

"Of course."

"They had seen me seal the information we stole into your shoulder and they had somehow gotten information on us as a couple, not just as Lightning. The seal 'master' they had insisted that it could only be unsealed by me even though he clearly didn't understand it at all. Not only did they know about us, they knew I was Jinchuuriki. Kami, they seemed to know everything!"

Minato listened impassively, letting her retell the memory

"They even had seals to completely bind my chakra. They knew they could never torture me enough to make me open the seals and their seal 'master' recognized the numbing seal I used to deaden any pain they might inflict on me, even if he couldn't dismantle it. So they made me watch from the observation room while they tortured you instead."

"We got out, Kushina, remember? You were brilliant and played their game until they unsealed your chakra long enough for you to flood my base Hiraishin seal and I used the chakra to transport both of us to the rendezvous point where the backup team brought us safely back to Konoha."

"That's not how it ended this time. The seal master had recognized the scar the Hiraishin left as an active seal before they let me near you and you realized this and had to—you had to completely destroy it so they couldn't access the formula and when he realized this, they determined you were still a flight risk and they just killed you, Minato!"

"Kushina, look at me." Minato pushed her back and held her at arms' length. "Kushina, look at me," he repeated, tenderly cupping the side of her face and lifting it to meet his gaze. "It wasn't real. We both got out with only a few scars to show for it. I'm alive, you're alive, I promise. There's no disputing it. Understood?"

She nodded.

"Say it."

"We're alive. It was only a dream."

"Good, now go back to sleep. I'll stay right here and keep watch until you wake up."

"But you have a meeting in the morning!"

"Not anymore."

"That's an abuse of authority."

"Why do you think I wanted the job?"

"Don't make me second guess you now!" Kushina giggled.

"Well, with your mood swings you'll be ecstatic to see me sometime soon, so I'm not particularly worried."

"Point."

(-.-)

 _Moving_

"Kushina? Why are you laying in the middle of the floor?"

"I can't get up."

"Why?"

"Because I have a little creature in my gut who's more annoying than both of us combined on our best day."

"Right. Well, as long as you're not insulting me. Would you like help getting up?"

"No. I think the rice is about to burn. Would you be so kind?"

"Sure?"

 _Ten minutes later_

"Kushina?"

"Hm?"

"Would you like something to eat?"

"Mhm."

"Would you like help to the table?"

"I like it right here. Could you bring it here like the best husband in the world?"

"Sure."

Minato juggled two plates of food and two glasses of water with chopsticks clenched in his teeth as he sat down beside where Kushina lay sprawled in the center of the living room.

"I love you, Minato."

"I love you too, Kushina."

 _Five minutes later_

"Are you planning on sleeping here?"

"Yes."

"Right. I'll go clear these dishes and make up a bed on the couch."

"What about orange?"

"You're not hearing a word I say, are you?"

"Only if they're not pink."

"I thought so."

(-.-)

 _The Day_

"Did you get the seal finalized?"

"Yes."

"Is the nursery ready?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Eight."

"You're not even looking at me!"

"No, I'm not."

"Is the safe house ready?"

"Yes."

"Do the ANBU know what they're supposed to be doing?"

"Yes."

"Are the—"

"Kushina, everything is ready, everything will be fine, okay! Why are you so nervous all of a sudden? You're never nervous. Sit down and eat something."

"But what if—"

"Kushina, everything will be fine, I promise."

"Cross your heart?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die…


	52. Timeline

**Timeline**

 _This is just a timeline of events. It's used mostly for author's reference, but it might clear up confusion._

 **(-)**

MINATO AGE 0

~ Born January 25

~ Father, Namikaze Masao – 27

~ Mother, Namikaze Kotone – 19

~ Sannin fight Hanzo at 14

AGE 1

~ Father nominated as clan head but gives it to his younger brother

~ Noticed to have sensor capabilities

AGE 2

AGE 3

~ Masters sensing

AGE 4

~ Family defects to Konoha

~ Sandaime – 36

~ Sakumo – 24

~ [THEGODWAR]The God War

~ Second Shinobi World War begins

AGE 5

~ Konoha joins Second Shinobi World War

~ Begins at Academy

AGE 6

~ Destruction of the Uzushiogakure

~ Kushina moves to Konoha

~ [BURNED]Meets Kushina/Survives assassination attempt meant for his father

~ Nawaki's death

~ Second Shinobi World War ends

AGE 7

AGE 8

~ [LOSS]Father's death/Second God War/Minato annihilates half of his clan/ejected from clan in all but name

AGE 9

~ Placed in Takigakure Bingo Book

~ Apprenticed to Jiraiya

AGE 10

~ [THEBELLTEST]Academy graduation

~ Rescues Kushina

~ Kyuubi sealed in Kushina

~ [LESSONS]Begins learning Fūinjutsu with Kushina

~ [TAJANARA]Loses Genin teammate

~ Kakashi is born

AGE 11

~ Signs summoning contract with the toads

~ Recreates the Flying Thunder God(FTG) technique

AGE 12

~ [CHUUNINEXAMS]Takes the Chuunin Exams with Kushina as a teammate

~ Earns Chuunin rank

~ Officially form Lightning

~ [TESTING]Completes FTG technique

AGE 13

~ Jōnin

~ Masters Sage Mode

AGE 14

~ [TAG-TEAM]Completes first S-ranked mission

~ Earns B-rank in Bingo Books (as Lightning)

AGE 15

~ Begins the Rasengan

~ Attempts to incorporate the FTG technique into actual battles

AGE 16

~ Earns A-rank in Bingo Books (as Lightning) and approach with caution orders

~ [APPRENTICE]Assigned Kakashi as an apprentice

~ Regular assassination attempts begin

~ Completes Rasengan

~ Assigned two Genin to complete a team

AGE 17

~ Kakashi makes Chuunin

AGE 18

~ Begins method for using FTG technique efficiently in battle

~ [SAKUMO'SSUICIDE]Sakumo commits suicide/Minato completes method for using FTG in battle but hides it

~ Third Shinobi World War begins/Rin Chuunin/Obito Chuunin

AGE 19

~ Itachi is born

~ Earns S-rank in Bingo Book (as himself)

~ Kushina earns S-rank in Bingo Book

AGE 20

~ [PLANS] Proctors Academy graduation test/fakes assassination

~ Single-handedly kills six Iwa teams in less than a minute

~ Flee-on-sight orders issued in Iwa

AGE 21

~ Severely injured in Iwa assassination attempt

~ Death of Dan Kato

~ Joins ANBU for six weeks then returns to his team

~ Increases his sensing range to encompass all of Konoha

AGE 22

~ Tsunade leaves Konoha

~ Begins plan to slaughter the Iwa armies until they surrender and threaten others to back off

AGE 23

~ Kakashi make Jōnin

~ Uchiha Obito presumed KIA

~ Third Shinobi World War ends – Count of confirmed kills is the highest in Konoha history

~ Nohara Rin presumed KIA

~ Appointed Hokage

~ Orochimaru's defection

AGE 24

~ Kyuubi attack/death of Uzumaki Naruto


End file.
